staple

[stey-puh l]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR staple ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a short piece of wire bent so as to bind together papers, sections of a book, or the like, by driving the ends through the sheets and clinching them on the other side.

a similar, often U-shaped piece of wire or metal with pointed ends for driving into a surface to hold a hasp, hook, pin, bolt, wire, or the like.

verb (used with object), sta·pled, sta·pling.

to secure or fasten by a staple or staples: to staple three sheets together.

Origin of staple

before 900; Middle English stapel orig., support, post, Old English stapol; cognate with Middle Dutch stapel foundation, German Stapel pile, Old Norse stǫpull pillar

staple

[stey-puh l]

noun

a principal raw material or commodity grown or manufactured in a locality.

a principal commodity in a mercantile field; goods in steady demand or of known or recognized quality.

a basic or necessary item of food: She bought flour, sugar, salt, and other staples.

a basic or principal item, thing, feature, element, or part: Cowboy dramas are a staple on television.

the fiber of wool, cotton, flax, rayon, etc., considered with reference to length and fineness.

Textiles. a standard length of textile fibers, representing the average of such fibers taken collectively, as short-staple or long-staple cotton.

History/Historical. a town or place appointed by royal authority as the seat of a body of merchants having the exclusive right of purchase of certain classes of goods for export.

adjective

chief or prominent among the products exported or produced by a country or district; chiefly or largely dealt in or consumed.

basic, chief, or principal: staple industries.

principally used: staple subjects of conversation.

verb (used with object), sta·pled, sta·pling.

to sort or classify according to the staple or fiber, as wool.

Origin of staple

1375–1425; late Middle English: place where merchants have trading rights < Middle Dutch stapel

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

Related Words for staple

predominant, fundamental, primary, standard, chief, key, main, essential, principal, important, popular

Examples from the Web for staple

Contemporary Examples of staple

Tor, on the other hand, has been an Internet staple for years.
The Attack on the Hidden Internet
Marc Rogers
December 29, 2014
The talk radio phenom and Fox News staple has identified himself as a longtime listener of the TRN patriarch.
The Godfather of Right-Wing Radio
Caitlin Dickson
November 23, 2014
Erectile dysfunction jokes have become a staple for comedy in the last 15 years.
Laughter Will Be the Legacy of Viagra
Samantha Allen
October 2, 2014
Soon enough the young crowd began to notice the drink that has now become a staple.
In Japan, Zima Haz No Zexual Preference
Jake Adelstein, Angela Erika Kubo
September 13, 2014
The pendulum swing between moods and tone, however, became a staple of the shoot.
How Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig Pulled Off Their Most Dramatic Roles Yet
Kevin Fallon
September 12, 2014

Historical Examples of staple

The staple length of common American cotton is from 24-28 mm.
Bremen Cotton Exchange
Andreas Wilhelm Cramer
A difference of only 1/2 mm in the length of the staple, may mean a difference of 10% in the value.
Bremen Cotton Exchange
Andreas Wilhelm Cramer
Pig-meat, in its various forms, is our staple article of food.
Brighter Britain! (Volume 1 of 2)
William Delisle Hay
But we must not think of it as our principal or staple industry.
Brighter Britain! (Volume 1 of 2)
William Delisle Hay
When the latch clicked and the hook dropped into the staple he, too, entered the kitchen.
Fair Harbor
Joseph Crosby Lincoln

British Dictionary definitions for staple

staple

noun

a short length of thin wire bent into a square U-shape, used to fasten papers, cloth, etc

a short length of stiff wire formed into a U-shape with pointed ends, used for holding a hasp to a post, securing electric cables, etc

verb

(tr) to secure (papers, wire, etc) with a staple or staples

Word Origin for staple

Old English stapol prop, of Germanic origin; related to Middle Dutch stapel step, Old High German staffal

staple

adjective

of prime importance; principalstaple foods

(of a commodity) forming a predominant element in the product, consumption, or trade of a nation, region, etc

noun

a staple commodity

a main constituent; integral part

mainly US and Canadian a principal raw material produced or grown in a region

the fibre of wool, cotton, etc, graded as to length and fineness

(in medieval Europe) a town appointed to be the exclusive market for one or more major exports of the land

verb

(tr) to arrange or sort (wool, cotton, etc) according to length and fineness

Word Origin for staple

C15: from Middle Dutch stapel warehouse; see staple 1

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 staple

n.1

"bent piece of metal with pointed ends," late 13c., from Old English stapol "post, pillar," from Proto-Germanic *stapulaz "pillar" (cf. Old Frisian stapul "stem of a tooth," Middle Low German stapel "block for executions," German Stapel "stake, beam"), from PIE stebh- (see staff (n.)).

Meaning "piece of thin wire driven through papers to hold them together" is attested from 1895. How this evolved into the modern fastening device is unclear, and it may not be the same word.

n.2

"principal article grown or made in a country or district," early 15c., "official market for some class of merchandise," from Anglo-French (14c.), from Old French estaple "market," from a Germanic source akin to Middle Low German stapol, Middle Dutch stapel "market," from the same source as staple (n.1), the notion being of market stalls behind pillars of an arcade, or else of a raised platform where the king's deputies administered judgment. The sense of "principle article grown or made in a place" is 1610s, short for staple ware "wares and goods from a market" (early 15c.).