stave

American  

[stayv] / steɪv /

noun

• staves
  plural

1. one of the thin, narrow, shaped pieces of wood that form the sides of a cask, tub, or similar vessel.

2. a stick, rod, pole, or the like.

3. a rung of a ladder, chair, etc.

4. Prosody.

   1. a verse or stanza of a poem or song.

   2. the alliterating sound in a line of verse, as the w- sound in wind in the willows.

5. Music. staff.

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verb (used with object)

staved, stove, staving

1. to break in a stave or staves of (a cask or barrel) so as to release the wine, liquor, or other contents.

2. to release (wine, liquor, etc.) by breaking the cask or barrel.

3. to break or crush (something) inward (often followed byin ).

4. to break (a hole) in, especially in the hull of a boat.

5. to break to pieces; splinter; smash.

6. to furnish with a stave or staves.

7. to beat with a stave or staff.

verb (used without object)

staved, stove, staving

1. to become staved in, as a boat; break in or up.

2. to move along rapidly.

verb phrase

1. stave off

   1. to put, ward, or keep off, as by force or evasion.

   2. to prevent in time; forestall.

      He wasn't able to stave off bankruptcy.

stave British  

/ steɪv /

noun

1. any one of a number of long strips of wood joined together to form a barrel, bucket, boat hull, etc

2. any of various bars, slats, or rods, usually of wood, such as a rung of a ladder or a crosspiece bracing the legs of a chair

3. any stick, staff, etc

4. a stanza or verse of a poem

5. music

   1. an individual group of five lines and four spaces used in staff notation

   2. another word for staff 1

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verb

1. (often foll by in) to break or crush (the staves of a boat, barrel, etc) or (of the staves of a boat) to be broken or crushed

2. to burst or force (a hole in something)

3. (tr) to provide (a ladder, chair, etc) with a stave or staves

4. (tr) to sprain (a finger, toe, etc)

Synonym Usage

See verse.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unstaved
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• staves
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of stave

First recorded in 1125–75; (noun) Middle English, back formation from staves; (verb) derivative of the noun

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Explanation

A stave is the crosspiece between the legs of a chair or a wooden slat forming the side of a barrel. In music, it's the five lines you write notes on. Stave comes from the word staff, as in a walking stick. You're most likely to encounter the word stave if you're learning woodworking. If someone "staves in" a door, they've broken a hole in it. You also might hear the idiom "stave off," which means to hold off for a short time.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stave staves staved staving stove

EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic will head to Beijing on Thursday for two days of make-or-break meetings with Chinese officials to try to stave off a trade war.

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

So they ran routes in the frontyard or shot hoops in the driveway or rode bikes in the neighborhood, anything to stave off the inevitable draw of mindless videos on YouTube.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

OCC officials requested the shareholders sign those agreements in an effort to stave off further scrutiny from Congress, a person familiar with the efforts said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

But they did have one potentially innovative and surprising, if disconcerting, solution to our national public health information crisis: A.I. has the potential to help stave off a conspiratorial catastrophe during the next pandemic.

From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026

Lawrence, whose machine and research style gave birth to the new paradigm, hoped to stave off its negative effects as long as he could.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Early-morning pilgrims had arrived by foot or car, some in traditional white smocks and thatched hats, carrying wooden staves.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026

"In our model, the barrel staves spread out in steps," he says, "each step representing a new limiting factor that becomes active as the cell grows faster."

From Science Daily ● Nov. 11, 2025

France's Emmanuel Macron was on Friday due to pick a head of government tasked with pulling the country out of a political gridlock, in a move that staves off fresh elections for now.

From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2025

However, that only staves off the pressure for a moment as the kick fails to make touch and Ireland are on the front foot again.

From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2024

He smelled woodsmoke and passed a stack of old lobster traps, blown over and the staves broken in, then a heap of firewood guarded pitifully by some old barrels, also broken.

From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt

An infusion of new funds approved by Congress this year and a waiver of eligibility procedures have staved off a potential crisis that would have left 4,200 back on the street.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

Powell’s calm but forceful defense of Fed independence likely staved off larger attacks on the institution and won him admiration and awards, like the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage award.

From MarketWatch ● May 10, 2026

To be safe, Jews must understand their community’s own history, and embrace the American values that have staved off the worst antisemitism in the U.S. for 250 years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026

Nevertheless, Bush’s protest at least temporarily staved off hundreds of thousands of Americans from being removed from their homes.

From Slate ● Oct. 23, 2025

Jacob would be with us out in the fields and Ashley staved at home to cook for the harvest crew.

From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson

The company has also reportedly been in discussions about potential concessions in the hope of satisfying Bonta’s concerns and staving off a lawsuit.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026

Your book is full of practical strategies for staving off digital exhaustion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2026

A $7 billion IMF bailout helped unlock further loans from friendly nations, staving off collapse.

From Barron's ● Nov. 20, 2025

Powered by Judge’s heroics, the Yankees turned an early 6-1 deficit into a dramatic 9-6 win, staving off elimination in this best-of-five American League Division Series for at least one more day.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2025

Besides staving off economic collapse, the dams are ideologically beguiling to the family that runs the country.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden

Olena Solovyova, 50, said her father in Oleshky moved in with a neighbor last winter—his house had no wood-burning stove, so he had no way to heat it once the gas was cut.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

Magic Chef stove, one of the first ovens to be equipped with a clock, recast kitchen work as something that could be measured and controlled.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

I actually like to step away from the stove at this point.

From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026

On 17 July, part of the Rustic Stomp festival near Wareham, Dorset, was destroyed by a fire that started when a camping stove set fire to a tent.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

"Of course, Husband," Mrs. Krupnik said, and she took his bowl to the stove where the pot of chowder was.

From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry

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