stave off

British  

verb

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

   to stave off hunger

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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]

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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

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

Meanwhile, supporters of Greenock Morton, the local football team, have set up a fighting fund to try to stave off financial collapse at the club.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

One project in the works: a buffalo mac and cheese packing 40 grams of protein for GLP-1 users trying to stave off muscle loss.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

And then she smiled at him, and said, "Mother says that rice pudding in sufficient quantity will help to stave off chills and colds and other autumnal ailments."

From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman