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

New, temporary sand berms are helping to stave off the rest of the week’s waves, but Chernus said he knows they can’t last forever.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

All of a sudden, the Rays were celebrating an unlikely 4-3 victory to stave off a sweep at the hands of the Brewers and extend the World Series for at least one more day.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 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

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

Lawrence, whose machine and research style gave birth to the new paradigm, hoped to stave off its negative effects as long as he could.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

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

It means not all the cuts will go ahead and it staves off effective bankruptcy, but it also saddles Havering with high debt repayments for the next 20 years.

From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2024

There the yew bows were made and repaired; staves for lances and pikestaffs were cut.

From "The Door in the Wall" by Marguerite de Angeli

With fertility falling across Europe over the past decade, they argue the country's policies may have staved off even greater decline.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 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

Indirectly, that snub also staved off the ACC’s nightmare scenario.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 7, 2025

Sánchez staved off the departure with a call to the governor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2025

I bathed her feet in warm water and thus staved off the “froch” bite.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

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

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

Their spice cabinet becomes yours; their stove, your stove; their neighborhood grocery store, your little errand.

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026

“Aunt Lotti, she keeps that stove of hers going all the time, winter or summer, I know she does. There is no smoke coming out of the chimney.”

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

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Related Words

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

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