How to Use stave in a Sentence

stave

1 of 2 noun
  • She was clamped to the moss with small staves through her elbows and knees.
    — Christian Als, Smithsonian, 29 May 2017
  • Instead, anchor the stave in the ground over bare soil or rocks.
    — T. Edward Nickens, Field & Stream, 9 Jan. 2017
  • Keep the stave roughly 1 inch wide from tip to tip and 1 inch thick.
    — Andrew Del-Colle and Lara Sorokanich, Popular Mechanics, 5 June 2018
  • For same day shooting, pick a bow stave that is dead and dry, but not rotten.
    — Tim MacWelch, Outdoor Life, 25 June 2020
  • Initially they were equipped with a few old rifles, staves and knives.
    — James Hookway, WSJ, 13 Sep. 2017
  • Props for fire arts are displayed on a far wall — hoops, staves, fans and a whip that could be lit on fire.
    — Daniel Krieger, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2016
  • The wooden hut is filled with staves drying on the shelves or placed gently against the wall.
    — Washington Post, 14 Dec. 2017
  • On the sides of the Ark were staves (poles) by which the Ark was carried.
    — Rabbi Avi Weiss, Sun Sentinel, 20 Feb. 2023
  • Puffins wheel overhead, while fulmars and guillemots cling to cliff ledges like notes on a stave.
    — Lewis Nunn, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
  • Leave enough room on the end of each stave to cut off roughly 6 inches, where the wood might have cracks.
    — Andrew Del-Colle, Popular Mechanics, 16 Aug. 2020
  • Just seven more days with that stave created a stronger cinnamon tone with a toasty feel to it.
    — Maggie Menderski, The Courier-Journal, 7 Mar. 2022
  • The lone artisan in his shop shaving out a single bow at a time from a stave of wood was a thing of the past.
    — Clare Conley, Outdoor Life, 18 Sep. 2025
  • Next the staves were steamed to become more flexible and flattened into boards.
    — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 28 July 2023
  • The crucial thing in terms of looking at the score is this pianissimo for the bottom two staves.
    — Seth Colter Walls, New York Times, 27 Oct. 2017
  • Barrel staves threaded across the ceiling, sprouting jagged brass light fixtures.
    — Josh Noel, chicagotribune.com, 6 June 2019
  • This is supposed to open the wood’s pores and allow the toasting to penetrate deep into the staves.
    — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Oak staves can be added to achieve the flavor usually imparted by barrels.
    — Aleksandra Crapanzano, WSJ, 12 Oct. 2018
  • The findings suggest that consuming more salt staves off thirst and helps people burn more calories.
    — Ashley Weatherford, The Cut, 8 May 2017
  • The barrels, made from white oak, are formed from staves, between 28 and 32 per barrel.
    — Bill Whitaker, CBS News, 28 Dec. 2025
  • Where half a century in wood will leave most whiskies tasting like a brittle oak stave, a few lucky casks manage to avoid that fate.
    — Tony Sachs, Robb Report, 23 Oct. 2019
  • In this case, Hole 1 features the mildest stave finish, while Hole 3 is the most intense.
    — David Thomas Tao, Forbes.com, 25 May 2026
  • If there is a natural curve to the stave, choose the outside of the curve as the belly because pulling the bow against the curve will add power.
    — Keith McCafferty, Field & Stream, 29 June 2023
  • Portions are finished with French oak staves before being blended to taste rather than to a set age statement.
    — Andy Vasoyan, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
  • This bourbon stave bottle topper is a decorative top piece carved from the stave of a barrel that was used to age bourbon.
    — AL.com, 7 June 2017
  • Those different staves brought out new flavors in the already existing bourbon.
    — Maggie Menderski, The Courier-Journal, 20 Apr. 2023
  • But when the singers do get fully comfortable between the staves, the results are often impressive.
    — Punch Shaw, star-telegram, 5 Aug. 2017
  • Line the sides of the bowl with the soldiers (like the staves of a wine barrel), overlapping as needed to make sure the bowl’s sides are fully covered.
    — Robin Mather, charlotteobserver, 25 July 2017
  • The summertime pushes the whiskey too far into those French oak staves, and brings out a negative taste through some of the tannins.
    — Tony Sachs, Esquire, 14 Mar. 2018
  • Meanwhile, intricate stave churches—carved with dragons and saints—rise like solemn guardians of tradition amid pine forests and mountain mist.
    — Lewis Nunn, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
  • The oak staves contribute a subtle tannic grip and dryness, keeping the honeyed malt from feeling overly sweet.
    — Joseph V Micallef, Forbes.com, 23 May 2026

stave

2 of 2 verb
  • The end had come, there was no staving it off any longer.
    — Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 7 Apr. 2026
  • Adleman gave up a run to cut the lead to one, but staved off a full collapse.
    — Zach Buchanan, Cincinnati.com, 17 Aug. 2017
  • Other stave churches in the region are worth a detour too.
    — David Nikel, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
  • In your 20s you down one between cocktails to stave off a hangover.
    — NBC News, 30 May 2017
  • His lawyers said a pardon was his only chance to stave off deportation.
    — Washington Post, 20 May 2017
  • Henkel and Standage staved it off twice before Cal came out on top, 18-16.
    — Daily News, 1 May 2026
  • To see if there was a way to stave that off, the researchers created a model that would stabilize the ice sheet.
    — Roni Dengler, Discover Magazine, 17 July 2019
  • To stave them off, wipe the seal down weekly with a mild bleach solution (1-part bleach, 9-parts water).
    — NBC News, 14 June 2018
  • The Hope To stave off this decline, some places are taking a more proactive approach.
    — Tyler Moss, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Apr. 2017
  • According to researchers, watching a favorite show staves it off, but a Netflix binge is a sign of it.
    — Sarah Fay, Longreads, 17 Mar. 2020
  • Fauci said the search is on for a consistent method to stave off heart attacks and strokes in those with HIV.
    — Meredith Cohn, baltimoresun.com, 28 May 2017
  • Jurisdictions trying to stave it off are fighting a losing battle.
    — Bradley Tusk, WSJ, 13 Nov. 2018
  • The rhythm elements help stave this off a bit but also take some of the bite out of a traditionally challenging genre.
    — Brittany Vincent, Rolling Stone, 8 Feb. 2023
  • But half-measures like Microsoft’s reimbursement plan appears to be enough to stave it off.
    — Brian Barrett, WIRED, 30 June 2019
  • Since a lack of lubricin caused arthritis, researchers thought perhaps additional lubricin could stave it off.
    — Lisa Raffensperger, Discover Magazine, 13 Mar. 2013
  • Illness, suffering, death, and the limits of our efforts to stave them off—these adversaries have been with us forever.
    — Christopher Beha, Harper's Magazine, 25 May 2020
  • This new data suggests, at least, some biological potential to stave it off for a very long time—if the conditions are right.
    — Wired, 19 July 2022
  • Facing a steady encroachment of corporate buyers, some neighborhoods are fighting to stave them off.
    — New York Times, 23 Apr. 2022
  • This is why studies suggest a person who challenges themselves mentally through puzzles or language learning could stave it off.
    — Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 8 May 2023
  • And now to areas trying to stave a Taliban offensive that has taken dozens of districts in recent days in the country’s north.
    — New York Times, 25 June 2021
  • Caden Perry helps explain why national issues stave away discounts within the state.
    — Hope Karnopp, jsonline.com, 3 June 2026
  • Just as higher estrogen can stave-off a breakout, testosterone seems to fuel additional production in the glands.
    — chicagotribune.com, 4 Dec. 2019
  • Lymphatic drainage not only helps with the vain stuff, like anti-aging and declogging, but can also stave off sickness, help with digestion, etc.
    — Dana Drori, Harper's BAZAAR, 31 Oct. 2016
  • The world is at last waking up to this humanitarian crisis—and to the fact that Turkey is the only country trying to stave it off.
    — The Economist, 7 Mar. 2020
  • Its provocations introduce tremendous danger, but stave off what Pyongyang sees as the even greater threats of invasion or collapse.
    — Max Fisher, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2016
  • Its mandate has been constrained in the last year, as much of its revenue was redirected to help Atlantic City stave off insolvency.
    — Amy S. Rosenberg, Philly.com, 20 June 2017
  • Burns’ research program focuses on using lifestyle changes in areas like diet and exercise to stave off Alzheimer’s.
    — Andy Marso, kansascity.com, 5 May 2017
  • Those officers left to contend with the crowd tried desperately to stave them off with a water hose, as their leadership had ordered them not to fire their weapons on the rioters.
    — Francine Uenuma, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 June 2020
  • Other variables in the collection included entry proof, char level, stave seasoning, and warehouse style.
    — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 8 Apr. 2026
  • His masthead-mate, George Packer, followed up with a piece that urged readers to imagine democracy’s unthinkable demise in order to stave it off.
    — Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 11 Dec. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stave.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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