Definition of "short-staffed" [short-staffed]

• Having fewer staff members than is usual or desirable. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "She tells a story of a man who arrived on a day when it was short-staffed and there was no one to put a tourniquet on his wound."
• "Gates said the foreign troops will still be needed in other areas, and for short-staffed training programs."
• "The hospital emergency room was short-staffed because of the holiday, and there was only one doctor available."