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

He’s since rolled out plastic sheeting across the floors in an effort to stave off any additional destruction.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

It’s going to be full and noisy as the Dream try to stave off elimination and force a Game 7 in San Francisco’s “Ballhalla” on Saturday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

Facing match point at 8-9 down in the tie break, Alcaraz fired an ace before leaning on a drop shot to stave off a second.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

The deal helped stave off fears of devastating losses for the city’s most iconic industry from Paramount following through on a threat to move its headquarters out of state.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

He tries to stave off the inevitable for as long as he can.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

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

Bran watched them from the balcony of Maester Luwin's turret, listening to them grunt and strain and curse as they swung their staves and wooden swords.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

Germany for decades has staved off the kind of deindustrialization that has wiped out millions of U.S. manufacturing jobs, maintaining a generation of well paid, skilled workers, particularly in the auto industry.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson at least staved off humiliation with a battling stand of 75, ended when Atkinson was out just before lunch.

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 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

Choreographer Mark Morris staved off the federal government’s arts wrecking ball by salvaging his latest work, “Moon,” a commission for the Kennedy Center’s Earth to Space festival in April.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2025

I saw in this the reason for my being staved off so long and the reason for my late guardian’s declining to commit himself to the formal knowledge of such a scheme.

From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

“Everyone in their 50s is consumed with staving off the inevitable.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

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

And a sense that this moral fable is playing out in other groups among the 600 or so mountain gorillas who are staving off extinction in their Virunga Mountains enclave.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

The Spaniard also had to dig deep to level at 1-1, staving off three break points himself.

From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 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

Dan also has solar panels, a camping stove, a tent, wood supplies and a propane fireplace insert that can run off grid - without electricity or wood.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026

They applied a harmless but uncomfortable heat sensation to the calf, similar to the brief pain someone might experience when accidentally touching a hot stove.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026

In Kingston, N.H., an 80-year-old named Rick Russman told Reuters he will rely on a wood stove to help heat his home this winter.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026

A wood-burning cast-iron stove serves as both fireplace and heater in the center of the living space.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

She takes the kettle off the stove and pours its contents into the tin cup.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

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Related Words

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