stave

Related topics: Music

stave1 /steɪv/ noun [countableC]

1. APMthe set of five lines on which music is written 五线谱

2. APMone of the thin curved pieces of wood fitted close together to form the sides of a barrel 〔桶边上呈弧形的〕桶板，侧板

Examples from the Corpus

stave• Many of the older men, the ones I took to be workers, carried iron staves.• Troops opened fire on crowds armed with iron staves and knives.• The rough staves were usually imported from Scandinavia and were brought up river by barge.• Early casks had butt joints but later the staves were tongued and grooved.• She wandered all over the stave and produced a curious counterpoint to the tune.• The staves were subjected to heat, usually from a small fire of shavings to form them into the characteristic shape.• This is placed between two staves and moved to wherever you want it by using the cursor keys.• At first, the Sisters themselves tried knocking in a few nails or propping up walls with staves.

stave2 verb

1 stave something ↔ in phrasal verbphr v (past tensepst and past participlepp staved or stove /stəʊv $ stoʊv/) BREAKto break something inwards 〔从外向里〕打破，砸破

The ship’s side was stove in when it went onto the rocks.

船触礁，船舷被撞破。

Examples from the Corpus

stave in• This was originally a stave church.• We landed hard and the wood beneath our feet just flew apart, shattering into staves.• His acolytes wore head-dresses of these feathers and carried gold staves and shields in temple processions.

2 stave something ↔ off phrasal verbphr v (past tensepst and past participlepp staved) PREVENTto keep someone or something from reaching you or affecting you for a period of time 挡开；避开

She brought some fruit on the journey to stave off hunger.

她旅途上带了些水果充饥。

Examples from the Corpus

stave off• Panic and anger both are rising in me, but I try to stave them off.• The manager can manipulate some things to stave that off, but pop music is about being popular.• The longer you stave that off, the less time you will spend building fatigue toxins.

stave off hunger• The catch was welcome, but more to vary our diet than stave off hunger.

Examples from the Corpus

stave• Parts of the grandiose Stalin-era building were sold to casino owners to raise money to stave off closure.• Mr Gusinsky is seeking foreign investors to stave off Gazprom's grab.• The question humankind must ask is whether the balancing act the president suggests is enough to stave off global devastation.• His ambition was to eat as little as possible, and in this way to stave off his hunger.• Otton hitched on to this ride and had so much fun that he managed to stave off the customary platoon with Kyle Wachholtz.• These were noises to stave off the silence into which misery might seep, noises to throw against the hardness of life.• To cope with this, the manager has to try and stave off time pressures without losing the momentum of gaining popularity.• The longer you stave that off, the less time you will spend building fatigue toxins.

From Longman Business Dictionary

stavestave /steɪv/ verb

→ stave something → off

Origin stave1

(1300-1400) staves

stave1 nounstave2 verb

Chinese

Corpus