Stave
verb
To stop something bad from happening for a while.
We need to find a way to stave off these financial problems.
Often appears as...
- stave off disaster
- stave off hunger
noun
A narrow strip of wood that forms part of a barrel.
They replaced the damaged staves on the wine barrel.
Often appears as...
- wine barrel stave
- broken stave
Usage tips
Technical
verb
To break a hole in, especially a cask or barrel.
They had to stave in the old barrel to get it dismantled.
Often appears as...
- stave in a barrel
- stave the cask
noun
A set of horizontal lines used in music notation.
He carefully wrote the notes on the musical stave.
Often appears as...
- five-line stave
- musical stave
Usage tips
Technical
verb
To stop something bad from happening for a while.
We need to find a way to stave off these financial problems.
Often appears as...
- stave off disaster
- stave off hunger
noun
A narrow strip of wood that forms part of a barrel.
They replaced the damaged staves on the wine barrel.
Often appears as...
- wine barrel stave
- broken stave
Usage tips
Technical
verb
To break a hole in, especially a cask or barrel.
They had to stave in the old barrel to get it dismantled.
Often appears as...
- stave in a barrel
- stave the cask
noun
A set of horizontal lines used in music notation.
He carefully wrote the notes on the musical stave.
Often appears as...
- five-line stave
- musical stave
Usage tips
Technical
Definition 1 of 4
Pro Tip 1/3Temporary Relief
Used to describe a temporary solution, not solving the problem completely.
Eating a small snack can stave off hunger until dinner.
Pro Tip 2/3Metaphorical Use
Often used metaphorically to describe preventing non-physical threats.
We must take action to stave off the threat of climate change.
Pro Tip 3/3Urgent Action
Implies an urgent action is required to delay something negative.
We'll need a big win to stave off relegation this season.
Pro Tip 1/3Temporary Relief
Used to describe a temporary solution, not solving the problem completely.
Eating a small snack can stave off hunger until dinner.
Pro Tip 2/3Metaphorical Use
Often used metaphorically to describe preventing non-physical threats.
We must take action to stave off the threat of climate change.
Pro Tip 3/3Urgent Action
Implies an urgent action is required to delay something negative.
We'll need a big win to stave off relegation this season.
Pro Tip 1/3Temporary Relief
Used to describe a temporary solution, not solving the problem completely.
Eating a small snack can stave off hunger until dinner.
Pro Tip 2/3Metaphorical Use
Often used metaphorically to describe preventing non-physical threats.
We must take action to stave off the threat of climate change.
Pro Tip 3/3Urgent Action
Implies an urgent action is required to delay something negative.
We'll need a big win to stave off relegation this season.
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Video examples
The 55 Gigaton Challenge...
which means cutting methane pollution is a necessary and fast-acting stimulus for our carbon budget. If methane emissions from agriculture and the oil and gas industry can be eliminated in this decade, we might be able to stave off catastrophes like the loss of the Arctic sea ice and glaciers all around the world.
Video examples
How to live to be 100+ -...
down the treadmill does when they do do intentional physical activity it's things they enjoy they tend to walk the only proven way to stave off cognitive decline and they all tend to have a garden they know how to set up their life in the right way so they have the right outlook each of these cultures
Video examples
Dan Buettner: How to...
That burns calories just as much as going on the treadmill does. When they do do intentional physical activity, it's the things they enjoy. They tend to walk, the only proven way to stave off cognitive decline, and they all tend to have a garden. They know how to set up their life in the right way
Video examples
When I die, recompose me...
that puts as much distance between ourselves and nature as is humanly possible. Our modern funerary practices are designed to stave off the natural processes that happen to a body after death. In other words, they're meant to prevent us from decomposing. But the truth
Video examples
In praise of conflict PIPE...
Industry will not agree to increased regulation unless it believes this will stave off even more regulation or perhaps knock some competitors out of the market. Nor can companies agree to do certain things, for example raise the prices of their unhealthy products,
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 276 PIPE...
they were very very heavy we had very few trucks that should come out stave it into again Drive and what you call short rains now me equivalent to the normal long range that we get every year so if we double that or we say one and a half
Video examples
Are food preservatives...
Like the compounds in smoke, these sop up free radicals and stave off rancid flavors that can develop in foods like oils, cheese, and cereal. Other antioxidants like citric acid and ascorbic acid help cut produce keep its color
Video examples
Liam Young: Planet City...
proposed a new world he called Half-Earth, a plan to stave off mass extinction by devoting half the surface of the earth completely to nature and then consolidating human development to the other half that would remain.
Video examples
Elaine Morgan says we...
this aquatic idea has been miscategorized as lunatic fringe, and it is not lunatic fringe. And the ironic thing about it is that they are not staving off the aquatic theory to protect a theory of their own,
Video examples
Impala Miraculously...
Frustration. Success would have staved off hunger for a week.
Video examples
The 55 Gigaton Challenge...
which means cutting methane pollution is a necessary and fast-acting stimulus for our carbon budget. If methane emissions from agriculture and the oil and gas industry can be eliminated in this decade, we might be able to stave off catastrophes like the loss of the Arctic sea ice and glaciers all around the world.
Video examples
How to live to be 100+ -...
down the treadmill does when they do do intentional physical activity it's things they enjoy they tend to walk the only proven way to stave off cognitive decline and they all tend to have a garden they know how to set up their life in the right way so they have the right outlook each of these cultures
Video examples
Dan Buettner: How to...
That burns calories just as much as going on the treadmill does. When they do do intentional physical activity, it's the things they enjoy. They tend to walk, the only proven way to stave off cognitive decline, and they all tend to have a garden. They know how to set up their life in the right way
Video examples
When I die, recompose me...
that puts as much distance between ourselves and nature as is humanly possible. Our modern funerary practices are designed to stave off the natural processes that happen to a body after death. In other words, they're meant to prevent us from decomposing. But the truth
Video examples
In praise of conflict PIPE...
Industry will not agree to increased regulation unless it believes this will stave off even more regulation or perhaps knock some competitors out of the market. Nor can companies agree to do certain things, for example raise the prices of their unhealthy products,
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 276 PIPE...
they were very very heavy we had very few trucks that should come out stave it into again Drive and what you call short rains now me equivalent to the normal long range that we get every year so if we double that or we say one and a half
Video examples
Are food preservatives...
Like the compounds in smoke, these sop up free radicals and stave off rancid flavors that can develop in foods like oils, cheese, and cereal. Other antioxidants like citric acid and ascorbic acid help cut produce keep its color
Video examples
Liam Young: Planet City...
proposed a new world he called Half-Earth, a plan to stave off mass extinction by devoting half the surface of the earth completely to nature and then consolidating human development to the other half that would remain.
Video examples
Elaine Morgan says we...
this aquatic idea has been miscategorized as lunatic fringe, and it is not lunatic fringe. And the ironic thing about it is that they are not staving off the aquatic theory to protect a theory of their own,
Video examples
Impala Miraculously...
Frustration. Success would have staved off hunger for a week.
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Erin McKean
American Editor
Part of the joy and pleasure of English is its boundless creativity: I can describe a new machine as bicyclish, I can say that I'm vitamining myself to stave off a cold, I can complain that someone is the smilingest person I've ever seen, and I can decide, out of the blue, that 'fetch' is now the word I want to use to mean 'cool.
Quote examples
Paul Kalanithi
American Writer
The physician's duty is not to stave off death or return patients to their old lives, but to take into our arms a patient and family whose lives have disintegrated and work until they can stand back up and face - and make sense of - their own existence.
Quote examples
Rufus Wainwright
Canadian Musician
My love of maple syrup. I've been known to knock back a can over a couple days: A swig here, a swig there, and next thing you know it's gone. It's a habit I have to stave off. I don't want to lose all my teeth.
Quote examples
Joshua Ferris
American Author
Everyone desires relationships and community. Most people want to belong to a cohesive, like-minded group. It staves off loneliness. It promotes identity. These are natural and very human instincts.
Quote examples
Rachel Sklar
Canadian Lawyer
In university, in a vain attempt to stave off the frosh fifteen, I used to melt fat-free cheese over broccoli, onions and cauliflower in the cafeteria microwave. That earned me few friends.
Quote examples
Samantha Power
Irish Public Servant
My basic feeling about military intervention is that it should be a last resort, undertaken only to stave off large-scale bloodshed.
Quote examples
Daniel Radcliffe
British Actor
What I learned is that acting is to a large extent about trying to stave off self-doubt long enough to be natural and real onstage.
Quote examples
Ramez Naam
American Writer
Solar power is going to be absolutely essential to meeting growing energy demands while staving off climate change.
Quote examples
Carrie Brownstein
American Musician
Curiosity is what keeps me open to a sense of hope. It staves off negativity.
Quote examples
Dan Buettner
American Explorer
Walking is the only way proven to stave off cognitive decline - it works.
Quote examples
Erin McKean
American Editor
Part of the joy and pleasure of English is its boundless creativity: I can describe a new machine as bicyclish, I can say that I'm vitamining myself to stave off a cold, I can complain that someone is the smilingest person I've ever seen, and I can decide, out of the blue, that 'fetch' is now the word I want to use to mean 'cool.
Quote examples
Paul Kalanithi
American Writer
The physician's duty is not to stave off death or return patients to their old lives, but to take into our arms a patient and family whose lives have disintegrated and work until they can stand back up and face - and make sense of - their own existence.
Quote examples
Rufus Wainwright
Canadian Musician
My love of maple syrup. I've been known to knock back a can over a couple days: A swig here, a swig there, and next thing you know it's gone. It's a habit I have to stave off. I don't want to lose all my teeth.
Quote examples
Joshua Ferris
American Author
Everyone desires relationships and community. Most people want to belong to a cohesive, like-minded group. It staves off loneliness. It promotes identity. These are natural and very human instincts.
Quote examples
Rachel Sklar
Canadian Lawyer
In university, in a vain attempt to stave off the frosh fifteen, I used to melt fat-free cheese over broccoli, onions and cauliflower in the cafeteria microwave. That earned me few friends.
Quote examples
Samantha Power
Irish Public Servant
My basic feeling about military intervention is that it should be a last resort, undertaken only to stave off large-scale bloodshed.
Quote examples
Daniel Radcliffe
British Actor
What I learned is that acting is to a large extent about trying to stave off self-doubt long enough to be natural and real onstage.
Quote examples
Ramez Naam
American Writer
Solar power is going to be absolutely essential to meeting growing energy demands while staving off climate change.
Quote examples
Carrie Brownstein
American Musician
Curiosity is what keeps me open to a sense of hope. It staves off negativity.
Quote examples
Dan Buettner
American Explorer
Walking is the only way proven to stave off cognitive decline - it works.
Example 1 of 10
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