: a usually U-shaped fastener: such as
a
: a metal loop both ends of which are driven into a surface to hold the hook, hasp, or bolt of a lock, secure a rope, or fix a wire in place
b
: a small wire both ends of which are driven through layers of thin and easily penetrable material (such as paper) and usually clinched to hold the layers together
c
: a usually metal surgical fastener used to hold layers of tissue together (as in the closure of an incision)
1
: a town used as a center for the sale or exportation of commodities in bulk
2
: a place of supply : source
3
: a chief commodity or production of a place
4
a
: a commodity for which the demand is constant
b
: something having widespread and constant use or appeal
c
: the sustaining or principal element : substance
5
6
a
: textile fiber (such as wool and rayon) of relatively short length that when spun and twisted forms a yarn rather than a filament
b
: the length of a piece of such textile fiber
Synonyms
Examples of staple in a Sentence
Verb
I stapled the pages in the upper left corner.
Adjective
such staple items as flour and sugar
That's a staple plot in mystery novels.
staple crops like wheat, rice, or sugarcane
Recent Examples on the Web
Jenna Ryu, SELF, 17 Apr. 2024
The stunning deep red shade will add a pop of color to even the simplest outfits, and it can be dressed up with a flowy maxi skirt, or down with a baggy pair of sweats to get the most wear out of this wardrobe staple.
—Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 16 Apr. 2024
One of the best parts of a new season is treating your closet to new wardrobe staples.
—Clara McMahon, Peoplemag, 16 Apr. 2024
And that was to release a live album, which is a true staple of the gospel/worship music genre.
—Jim Harrington, The Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2024
The bad boy versus nice guy trope is a staple of mainstream ‘90s rom-coms.
—Lorena O’Neil, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2024
Pair them with preppy staples and a shiny pair of silver ballet flats.
—Christina Holevas, Vogue, 12 Apr. 2024
Not just a remedy for your own wellbeing, this pantry staple can also prevent damping off when transplanting young plants, in addition to removing mold from leaves and aiding in seed germination.
—Kristin Guy, Sunset Magazine, 11 Apr. 2024
In Hawaii, shops that serve shave ice, domes of pillowy-soft ice slivers doused in colorful syrups, vie for ubiquity with other local staples like poke places or lei stands.
—Matthew Dekneef, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2024
Carl Lamarre, Billboard, 7 Dec. 2023
Wayte was taken out in an ambulance and treated for a concussion and a head wound that had to be stapled shut.
—Rachel Weiner, Washington Post, 12 Oct. 2023
The right side of her head had been shaved and stapled closed.
—Jenisha Watts, The Atlantic, 13 Sep. 2023
The two-month manhunt unfolded at the dawn of the internet age, the first time a Missing Person flyer was posted online, not just stapled to telephone poles and Scotch-taped to storefront windows.
—Time, 2 Oct. 2023
Right now, as Mizutani’s gallery decides how to organize the forthcoming show, many of the paintings have been haphazardly stapled to the walls.
—Kurt Soller, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2023
Beforehand, people fill the Temple with messages, writing on the walls and stapling photos and personal effects to the structure.
—Matthew Hutson, The New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2023
Made from durable maple hardwood, the broom’s heavy-duty head features strong styrene acrylonitrile bristles that are attached in tufts and securely stapled in place to prevent shedding.
—Kat De Naoum, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Aug. 2023
For the 1966 Watts Summer Festival, Sylvester stapled together a trove of aluminum pie tins to fashion dresses for himself and Tiki, another Disquotay.
—Paula Mejía, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2023
Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 18 Apr. 2024
Learn how to make ham biscuits, and then have fun planning your spreads and toppings.
Ingredients for Ham Biscuits
These ham biscuits come together with staple baking ingredients, including flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, butter, and buttermilk.
—Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 30 Mar. 2024
Today, it's still used as a staple ingredient for making buttermilk recipes like fluffy pancakes and biscuits.
—Katlyn Moncada, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Mar. 2024
The business continues to offer its staple baked goods and pastries but now has a seasonal menu for dining.
—Usa Today Network, USA TODAY, 15 Feb. 2024
In intervening years, art therapy has become a staple treatment for improving mental health in populations that for various reasons get isolated from larger society, such as people with cognitive and mobile disabilities in care facilities, or people in prison.
—A.k. Whitney, Orange County Register, 2 Apr. 2024
Essie Licorice $9 View On Walmart $9 View On Target $10
There's always a need for a staple glossy black nail polish, whether for those who like a dark manicure or whenever Halloween comes around.
—Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 25 Mar. 2024
Some of the judging criteria for the fleece includes fineness and handle, uniformity of micron and color, character, crimp and staple type, density and brightness, absence of guard hair, impurities/stains/fleece damage, lock structure and density luster.
—Tammy Ljungblad, Kansas City Star, 23 Mar. 2024
Northland’s been a staple brand for walleye anglers for decades, and the shape of their Deep-Vee Jig is one of the most unique.
—David A. Rose, Field & Stream, 20 Mar. 2024
Noun
Say goodbye to pasta sauce splatters and sticky peanut butter residue, and hello to a cleaning staple that also looks cute sitting by your sink.
—Jenna Ryu, SELF, 17 Apr. 2024
The stunning deep red shade will add a pop of color to even the simplest outfits, and it can be dressed up with a flowy maxi skirt, or down with a baggy pair of sweats to get the most wear out of this wardrobe staple.
—Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 16 Apr. 2024
One of the best parts of a new season is treating your closet to new wardrobe staples.
—Clara McMahon, Peoplemag, 16 Apr. 2024
And that was to release a live album, which is a true staple of the gospel/worship music genre.
—Jim Harrington, The Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2024
The bad boy versus nice guy trope is a staple of mainstream ‘90s rom-coms.
—Lorena O’Neil, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2024
Pair them with preppy staples and a shiny pair of silver ballet flats.
—Christina Holevas, Vogue, 12 Apr. 2024
Not just a remedy for your own wellbeing, this pantry staple can also prevent damping off when transplanting young plants, in addition to removing mold from leaves and aiding in seed germination.
—Kristin Guy, Sunset Magazine, 11 Apr. 2024
In Hawaii, shops that serve shave ice, domes of pillowy-soft ice slivers doused in colorful syrups, vie for ubiquity with other local staples like poke places or lei stands.
—Matthew Dekneef, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2024
Verb
Draped in a suit, the Migos rapper grows increasingly vexed after spending his time stapling papers.
—Carl Lamarre, Billboard, 7 Dec. 2023
Wayte was taken out in an ambulance and treated for a concussion and a head wound that had to be stapled shut.
—Rachel Weiner, Washington Post, 12 Oct. 2023
The right side of her head had been shaved and stapled closed.
—Jenisha Watts, The Atlantic, 13 Sep. 2023
The two-month manhunt unfolded at the dawn of the internet age, the first time a Missing Person flyer was posted online, not just stapled to telephone poles and Scotch-taped to storefront windows.
—Time, 2 Oct. 2023
Right now, as Mizutani’s gallery decides how to organize the forthcoming show, many of the paintings have been haphazardly stapled to the walls.
—Kurt Soller, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2023
Beforehand, people fill the Temple with messages, writing on the walls and stapling photos and personal effects to the structure.
—Matthew Hutson, The New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2023
Made from durable maple hardwood, the broom’s heavy-duty head features strong styrene acrylonitrile bristles that are attached in tufts and securely stapled in place to prevent shedding.
—Kat De Naoum, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Aug. 2023
For the 1966 Watts Summer Festival, Sylvester stapled together a trove of aluminum pie tins to fashion dresses for himself and Tiki, another Disquotay.
—Paula Mejía, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2023
Adjective
Within the collection, there was a staple look that felt like a mash-up of sorts: a pair of black and yellow leather pants worn with a striped tee and a plaid jacket.
—Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 18 Apr. 2024
Learn how to make ham biscuits, and then have fun planning your spreads and toppings.
Ingredients for Ham Biscuits
These ham biscuits come together with staple baking ingredients, including flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, butter, and buttermilk.
—Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 30 Mar. 2024
Today, it's still used as a staple ingredient for making buttermilk recipes like fluffy pancakes and biscuits.
—Katlyn Moncada, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Mar. 2024
The business continues to offer its staple baked goods and pastries but now has a seasonal menu for dining.
—Usa Today Network, USA TODAY, 15 Feb. 2024
In intervening years, art therapy has become a staple treatment for improving mental health in populations that for various reasons get isolated from larger society, such as people with cognitive and mobile disabilities in care facilities, or people in prison.
—A.k. Whitney, Orange County Register, 2 Apr. 2024
Essie Licorice $9 View On Walmart $9 View On Target $10
There's always a need for a staple glossy black nail polish, whether for those who like a dark manicure or whenever Halloween comes around.
—Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 25 Mar. 2024
Some of the judging criteria for the fleece includes fineness and handle, uniformity of micron and color, character, crimp and staple type, density and brightness, absence of guard hair, impurities/stains/fleece damage, lock structure and density luster.
—Tammy Ljungblad, Kansas City Star, 23 Mar. 2024
Northland’s been a staple brand for walleye anglers for decades, and the shape of their Deep-Vee Jig is one of the most unique.
—David A. Rose, Field & Stream, 20 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'staple.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near staple
Cite this Entry
“Staple.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/staple. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
staple
1 of 4 noun
sta·ple
ˈstā-pəl 
: a usually U-shaped fastener: as
a
: a piece of metal with sharp points to be driven into a surface to hold something (as a hook, rope, or wire)
b
: a piece of thin wire that is driven through papers and bent over at the ends to fasten them together or driven through thin material to fasten it to something else
c
: a usually metal surgical fastener used to hold layers of tissue together (as in the closing of a wound)
staple
3 of 4 noun1
: a chief product of business or farming of a place
2
a
: something in widespread and constant use or demand
b
: the chief part of something
potatoes are the staple of their diet
3
4
: textile fiber (as wool or rayon) suitable for spinning into yarn
staple
4 of 4 adjective1
: used, needed, or enjoyed constantly usually by many individuals
2
: produced regularly or in large quantities
staple crops such as wheat and rice
3
: principal entry 1, chief
bamboo is the staple diet of the panda
Etymology
Noun
Old English stapol "post"
Noun
Middle English staple "a major market town, place for exporting"; of Dutch origin
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