stanch

[ stawnch, stanch, stahnch ]

/ stɔntʃ, stæntʃ, stɑntʃ /

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verb (used with object)

to stop the flow of (a liquid, especially blood).

to stop the flow of blood or other liquid from (a wound, leak, etc.).

Archaic. to check, allay, or extinguish.

verb (used without object)

to stop flowing, as blood; be stanched.

noun

Also called flash-lock, navigation weir . a lock that, after being partially emptied, is opened suddenly to send a boat over a shallow place with a rush of water.

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Also staunch

[stawnch] /stɔntʃ/ .

Origin of stanch

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English stanchen, staunchen (verb) <Old French estanchier “to close, stop, slake (thirst),” from Vulgar Latin stanticāre (unattested), equivalent to Latin stant- (stem of stāns, present participle of stāre to stand) + -icāre causative suffix

OTHER WORDS FROM stanch

stanch·a·ble, adjectivestancher, nounun·stanch·a·ble, adjective

Words nearby stanch

stamp mill, stamp out, stamp tax, stan, stance, stanch, stanchion, stanchless, stan culture, stand, stand a chance

Other definitions for stanch (2 of 2)

stanch²

[ stawnch, stahnch, stanch ]

/ stɔntʃ, stɑntʃ, stæntʃ /

adjective, stanch·er, stanch·est.

staunch.

OTHER WORDS FROM stanch

stanchly, adverbstanchness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use stanch in a sentence

Adding other measures to stanch viral spread remains critical, he said.
CDC says coronavirus could be under control this summer in U.S. if people get vaccinated and are careful|Joel Achenbach, Lena H. Sun|May 5, 2021|Washington Post
Only by studying both groups will researchers determine how well vaccines work in stanching the virus’s spread.
A vaccine study in college students will help determine when it’s safe to take masks off|Carolyn Y. Johnson|April 12, 2021|Washington Post
They could be a vital component in stanching the spread of the virus — especially in the crucial months before most Americans are vaccinated against the pathogen.
How do home tests for coronavirus work? Where can I get one?|William Wan|December 17, 2020|Washington Post
Xavier is also a stanch ally to the LGBTQ community, and I know that he will work with us to ensure health equity for our community.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra picked as HHS secretary|Brody Levesque|December 7, 2020|Washington Blade

State and regional water officials are also stepping in, increasingly trying to stanch surface expressions.
Oil Companies Are Profiting From Illegal Spills. And California Lets Them.|by Janet Wilson, The Desert Sun, and Lylla Younes, ProPublica|September 18, 2020|ProPublica
A neighbor tried in vain to stanch the bleeding with a towel.
Chicago’s Gun-Toting Gang Girl: ‘Lil Snoop’|Michael Daly|April 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In a swift move to stanch the controversy, Governor Rockefeller demanded the piece be removed.
The Most Wanted Warhol: A Scandal at the 1964 World’s Fair|Jessica Dawson|April 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But Clapper has also failed fundamentally to stanch the leakage of secrets so emblematic of his tenure atop the community.
Spy Chief James Clapper: We Can’t Stop Another Snowden|Eli Lake|February 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Obama administration began 2009 with an aggressive stimulus to stanch the rapid deterioration of the economy.
Larry Summers’ Impossible Stimulus Dream|Zachary Karabell|June 14, 2011|DAILY BEAST
This is the first and principal point at which we can stanch the wastage of teaching energy that now goes on.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
Here, then, the League and their stanch friends have sustained an unexpected and serious shock.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
I tried to stanch it with my waistband, but ineffectually; it relieved him for a moment, and he asked for water.
Confessions of a Thug|Philip Meadows Taylor
It seemed too bad that such a stanch dwelling should be given over to neglect, but such is often the case in a new country.
Gold-Seeking on the Dalton Trail|Arthur R. Thompson
To this I agreed, knowing that Tim was a stanch old soldier, who would not beat a retreat unless we were likely to be overpowered.
In the Wilds of Florida|W.H.G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for stanch

stanch

staunch (stɔːntʃ)

/ (stɑːntʃ) /

verb

to stem the flow of (a liquid, esp blood) or (of a liquid) to stop flowing

to prevent the flow of a liquid, esp blood, from (a hole, wound, etc)

an archaic word for assuage

noun

a primitive form of lock in which boats are carried over shallow parts of a river in a rush of water released by the lock

Derived forms of stanch

stanchable or staunchable, adjectivestancher or stauncher, noun

Word Origin for stanch

C14: from Old French estanchier, from Vulgar Latin stanticāre (unattested) to cause to stand, from Latin stāre to stand, halt

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012