a body of persons employed in an organization or place of work.
(used with a plural verb) persons: All personnel are being given the day off.
personnel department.
Origin of personnel
1825–35; <French, noun use of personnel (adj.) personal <Late Latin persōnāle, neuter of persōnālis; replacing personal (noun), Anglicized form of French personnel; compare German Personal, variant of Personale,Italian personale.See matériel
usage note for personnel
2. Some usage guides object to the use of personnel as a plural. However, this use is well established and standard in all varieties of speech and writing. The use of personnel with a preceding number is largely restricted to business and government communications: Six personnel were transferred.
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH personnel
personal, personnel
Words nearby personnel
person-day, personhood, personification, personify, personned, personnel, personnel agency, personnel department, person of color, person of colour, person-to-person