View synonyms for stave off

stave off

verb

tr, adverb to avert or hold off (something undesirable or harmful), esp temporarily
to stave off hunger

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Idioms and Phrases

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]

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April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

stave staves

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