Meaning & use
Staffordshire
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Meaning
proper nounproper
A county in the West Midlands region of central England, known for its pottery industry and the Peak District National Park.
Grammar: Used as a name, so it takes no article: 'Staffordshire is in England,' not 'the Staffordshire'.
Staffordshire is famous for its pottery, especially in the city of Stoke-on-Trent.
She grew up in a small village in Staffordshire.
The Staffordshire countryside is popular with walkers.
Common combinations
- Staffordshire bull terrier
- A Staffordshire bull terrier is a strong, friendly dog.
- Staffordshire pottery
- The museum has a fine collection of Staffordshire pottery.
- the Staffordshire Moorlands
- They went hiking in the Staffordshire Moorlands.
- University of Staffordshire
- He is studying at the University of Staffordshire.
Synonyms and how they differ
- Staffs
- An informal abbreviation for Staffordshire, common in addresses and local contexts, but not used in formal writing.
Word family
- Stafford proper noun
- The county town of Staffordshire, after which the county is named.
- Staffordian noun
- A person from Stafford or Staffordshire, though this is rare.
Commonly confused: Staffordshire or Stafford? Staffordshire or Shropshire?
Staffordshire vs Stafford
Stafford is the town; Staffordshire is the larger county around it. Don't use them interchangeably.
Staffordshire vs Shropshire
Shropshire is a neighboring county to the west; the similar '-shire' ending can cause confusion.
Practice
Which sentence uses the name of the English county correctly?
Choose one answer.
Staffordshire is a proper noun and takes no article, so 'Staffordshire is a county in central England' is correct. Option A wrongly adds 'the'; option C uses a nonstandard word order; option D uses a plural verb with a singular proper noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Staffordshire”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.