stanch

[ stawnch, stanch, stahnch ]

/ stɔntʃ, stæntʃ, stɑntʃ /

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.

Nearby words

Also staunch.

Origin of stanch

1275–1325; Middle English stanchen, staunchen (v.) < Old French estanchier to close, stop, slake (thirst) < Vulgar Latin *stanticāre, equivalent to Latin stant- (stem of stāns, present participle of stāre to stand) + -icāre causative suffix

Related formsstanch·a·ble, adjectivestanch·er, nounun·stanch·a·ble, adjective

stanch

[ stawnch, stahnch, stanch ]

/ stɔntʃ, stɑntʃ, stæntʃ /

adjective, stanch·er, stanch·est.

staunch².

Related formsstanch·ly, adverbstanch·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for stanch

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

"That is very good advice," said Anders with a wry face, as he plucked some moss to stanch the wound in his arm.
Days of the Discoverers|L. Lamprey
Are you loyal and stanch and true—or treacherous and contemptible?
Wolf Breed|Jackson Gregory
Blood was gushing from his nose, and he tried to stanch it on the sleeve of his jacket.
Little Fuzzy|Henry Beam Piper
Yet with it he combined the character of a practical politician and a stanch party man.
Abraham Lincoln, Vol. I.|John T. Morse
He has been a stanch supporter of the public schools and an advocate for good roads.
Scandinavians on the Pacific, Puget Sound|Thomas Ostenson Stine

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 Formsstanchable 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

Word Origin and History for stanch

stanch

"to stop the flow of" (especially of blood), c.1300, from Old French estanchier "cause to cease flowing, stop, hinder," from Vulgar Latin *stancare, perhaps contracted from *stagnicare, from Latin stagnum "pond, pool" (see stagnate).