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

At least that’s what I kept telling myself, in a vain attempt to stave off the epic loneliness I now felt.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

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

With wild yells very uncharacteristic of peaceful mice, the friends seized their staves and charged out, fired with new zeal.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

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

They wouldn’t get any closer, on account of USC’s star freshman, who personally staved off any serious threat of a Badger comeback.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 7, 2025

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

“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

For every trending supplement, there is an unprocessed, wholefood alternative – from the anti-inflammatory benefits of turmeric, staving off cramp with pickle juice or consumption of high-nitrate foods like beetroot before competition.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

“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

After staving off a weekend collapse, McIlroy had dodged Scheffler, himself a two-time champion, and became only the fourth player to win back-to-back Masters titles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026

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

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

I grew up in eastern Kentucky and attended grade school in a four-room schoolhouse without indoor plumbing that had a potbelly stove for heat in the winter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 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

“Let ‘em be so they can eat,” Aunt Maud called out from the stove.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

Related Words

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