stave off
verb
staved off; staving off; staves off
1
: to fend off
staving off creditors
2
: to ward off (something adverse) : forestall
trying to stave off disaster
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
Gibney illustrates that state of waiting, of staving off what at that time appears to be the inevitable, with the famous sequence from Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, in which Max von Sydow’s medieval knight plays chess with Death on a desolate beach.
—
David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 25 Jan. 2026
The 76ers had pulled within two late until Anunoby and Landry Shamet followed with consecutive 3s that helped the Knicks stave off the late-game collapse.
—CBS News, 24 Jan. 2026
Cities have until 45 days before the elections to call them off, but county officials would need to know by late February whether or not the items will be on the ballot, meaning the sun is setting on high-stakes negotiations to stave off a mutiny.
—Lilly Kersh, Dallas Morning News, 24 Jan. 2026
Snead and McVay renewed the contract terms with Stafford in late February, staving off would-be suitors in the Giants, Raiders and Steelers, and tweaked the roster some by adding run-stopping defensive tackle Poona Ford and All-Pro receiver Davante Adams.
—Jourdan Rodrigue, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stave off
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David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 25 Jan. 2026
The 76ers had pulled within two late until Anunoby and Landry Shamet followed with consecutive 3s that helped the Knicks stave off the late-game collapse.
—CBS News, 24 Jan. 2026
Cities have until 45 days before the elections to call them off, but county officials would need to know by late February whether or not the items will be on the ballot, meaning the sun is setting on high-stakes negotiations to stave off a mutiny.
—Lilly Kersh, Dallas Morning News, 24 Jan. 2026
Snead and McVay renewed the contract terms with Stafford in late February, staving off would-be suitors in the Giants, Raiders and Steelers, and tweaked the roster some by adding run-stopping defensive tackle Poona Ford and All-Pro receiver Davante Adams.
—Jourdan Rodrigue, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stave off
Cite this Entry
“Stave off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stave%20off. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
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