stave

American  

[steyv] / 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

Etymology

Origin of stave

First recorded in 1125–75; (noun) Middle English, back formation from staves; (verb) derivative of the noun

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

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

United officials were quick to make it known the number nine shirt Rashford wore in Poland was not permanent, to stave off any complaints from those tempted to buy one.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

There is some indication that exercise may help stave off dementia, although causality is unproven.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

Sometimes, when I have relapses of my old demon, I lie in the crook of his arm and he comforts me this way, talking to me all night long to stave off the bad dreams.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

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

The defenders followed the two rats closely, menacing them with staves.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

An infusion of new funds approved by Congress this year and a waiver of eligibility procedures have staved off a potential crisis that would have left 4,200 back on the street.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 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

Nevertheless, Bush’s protest at least temporarily staved off hundreds of thousands of Americans from being removed from their homes.

From Slate ● Oct. 23, 2025

Rohl, who left Sheffield Wednesday by mutual consent in the summer, twice staved off relegation with the embattled South Yorkshire club.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2025

“Well, Master Kilvin, according to the students, I staved it in with a single blow from my mighty hand.”

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

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

County officials said federal funding cuts will be a major factor in future spending — but they’re staving off layoffs and program cuts for now.

From Los Angeles Times ● 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

Powered by Judge’s heroics, the Yankees turned an early 6-1 deficit into a dramatic 9-6 win, staving off elimination in this best-of-five American League Division Series for at least one more day.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2025

It was like I’d been staving it all off for survival’s sake, and now that things looked better, I allowed myself to be sick.

From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer

He and his roommates would use up to six stove burners at a time to prepare meals together, he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026

The day was in the low 70s, and a breeze was coming through our kitchen window; I decided I would not mind standing at the stove long enough to coax the squash toward sweet collapse.

From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026

On 17 July, part of the Rustic Stomp festival near Wareham, Dorset, was destroyed by a fire that started when a camping stove set fire to a tent.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

In the early 1970s, Stephen Hawking and other researchers discovered surprising connections between the laws of thermodynamics, which describe familiar processes such as heating water on a stove, and the behavior of black holes.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026

A light snow lay on the ground and it was hard to find the sticks and twigs with which a small stove was kept going in each room.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Related Words

• anticipate
• avert
• avoid
• counteract
• foil
• forestall
• halt
• preclude
• put an end to
• rule out
• thwart