stave

CEFRB2

/steɪv/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To prevent something bad from happening for a time.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    A metrical portion; a stanza; a staff.

Examples

  • The Fed is trying to stave off a run on the banks.

  • The supple stave slid gracefully through the opening.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meaning

  1. One of the bars or rounds of a rack, rungs of a ladder, etc; one of the cylindrical bars of a lantern wheel

noun

Extra meanings

  1. One of a number of narrow strips of wood, or narrow iron plates, placed edge to edge to form the sides, covering, or lining of a vessel or structure; especially, one of the strips which form the sides of a cask, barrel, pail, etc.

  2. The set of five horizontal and parallel lines on and between which musical notes are written or pointed; the staff.

More examples

In context

  • You have to get more exercise in order to stave off senility.

  • We ate grass in an attempt to stave off our hunger.

  • to stave lead, or the joints of pipes into which lead has been run

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

He drank ginger tea to blank off the cold that was coming.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

Back-formation from staves, the plural of staff.