stave off

verb

staved off; staving off; staves off

transitive verb

1

: to fend off

staving off creditors

2

: to ward off (something adverse) : forestall

trying to stave off disaster

Synonyms of stave off

• repel
• resist
• turn back
• fend (off)
• turn away
• repulse
• beat off

Examples of stave off in a Sentence

managed to stave off the invaders

the quartermaster staved off a shortage by requisitioning more than enough supplies

Recent Examples on the Web

Even though the oil market continues to run at a deficit, the more oil that comes out of the strait, the longer the market can stave off a looming tipping point at which its reserves become insufficient to supply the world with enough oil. — David Goldman, CNN Money, 17 Aug. 2026

And Cronenworth, fouling off pitches against lefty Aaron Ashby, did well to stave off a strikeout before hitting a soft bounder to first baseman Jake Bauers. — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026

In Haiti, Liberia, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and South Sudan, regional bodies helped stave off governmental collapse. — Eghosa E. Osaghae, Foreign Affairs, 11 Aug. 2026

The question of whether to allow recording devices to make official legal transcripts has long been debated in California, where organizations representing court reporters have succeeded in staving off such changes. — Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 11 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for stave off

• cerenkov
• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff

Kids Definition

stave off

verb

: to force or keep away : fend off

stave off trouble