noun
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For many Americans taking a weight-loss drug, Thanksgiving presents a conundrum: Take the weekly dose that staves off hunger, or push it off so they can feast?
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 26, 2025
"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
Balekin lifts a single staff from a vessel beside his desk that holds an assortment of staves and canes.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.