Meaning & use
junior staff
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Meaning
noununcountable
The employees in a company or organization who have the lowest rank or the least experience.
Grammar: Usually takes a plural verb when you think of the people: The junior staff are unhappy. Can take a singular verb when you think of the group: The junior staff is well trained.
Patterns
- junior staff at something
- junior staff in a department
- a member of the junior staff
The junior staff were asked to attend a training session on Friday.
She started as a member of the junior staff and worked her way up to manager.
The company plans to hire more junior staff next year.
Common combinations
- member of the junior staff
- Every member of the junior staff received a new laptop.
- junior staff training
- Junior staff training is held every Monday morning.
- hire junior staff
- We need to hire junior staff for the busy season.
- junior staff turnover
- High junior staff turnover is a problem in this industry.
Synonyms and how they differ
- junior employees
- A more formal phrase that emphasizes the individual workers rather than the group.
- subordinates
- Refers to people below you in rank, but it can sound disapproving or impersonal.
- entry-level workers
- Focuses on the stage of their career, not their rank in a particular company.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: junior staff or senior staff?
junior staff vs senior staff
Senior staff have higher rank or more experience; junior staff are at the bottom of the hierarchy.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'junior staff' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Junior staff' is a collective noun, so it takes a plural verb when referring to the people. Option An is wrong because 'junior staff' is not a single person; option C is wrong because you would say 'a member of the junior staff'; option D is wrong because you are promoted to a higher position, not to junior staff.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “junior staff”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.