stave off

British  

verb

1. (tr, adverb) to avert or hold off (something undesirable or harmful), esp temporarily

   to stave off hunger

---

stave off Idioms  

1. Keep or hold away, repel, as in The Federal Reserve Board is determined to stave off inflation. This metaphoric expression transfers beating something off with a staff or stave to nonphysical repulsion. [c. 1600]

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stave off

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

It can make us feel more alert, improve concentration and stave off tiredness.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 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

Doctors recommend that GLP-1 users increase their protein intake to stave off the muscle loss that comes with rapid calorie cutting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

With hundreds of millions of bacteria, it only takes one survivor to stave off extinction.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir