1
2
as in to prevent
to keep from happening by taking action in advance
the quartermaster staved off a shortage by requisitioning more than enough supplies
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of stave off
Harvard gutted out the disadvantages, though, staving off wave after wave of Boston University pressure to eventually force overtime.
—
Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 21 Jan. 2026
Each point helped stave off the Buffs, who kept hanging around.
—Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 21 Jan. 2026
Hoping to stave off Soviet military influence in the region, the US and UK built a major base on Diego Garcia in 1971.
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 20 Jan. 2026
The block went into effect last August, and according to Jassy, there isn’t much else Amazon and third-party sellers can do to stave off additional price increases.
—Emma Roth, The Verge, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stave off
Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 21 Jan. 2026
Each point helped stave off the Buffs, who kept hanging around.
—Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 21 Jan. 2026
Hoping to stave off Soviet military influence in the region, the US and UK built a major base on Diego Garcia in 1971.
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 20 Jan. 2026
The block went into effect last August, and according to Jassy, there isn’t much else Amazon and third-party sellers can do to stave off additional price increases.
—Emma Roth, The Verge, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stave off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stave off
Verb
-
Inviting in such resolute saboteurs, these institutions repel many in their core audience.—
Sean Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
-
In ancient China, Fa Mulan (Ming-Na Wen) takes her ailing father’s place as a conscript by disguising herself as a man to help repel the invading Huns.—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
This formula contains niacinamide to help support hair and skin health, ashwagandha extract to soothe, and biotin to help strengthen hair and prevent breakage.—
Andrea Navarro,
Glamour,
29 Jan. 2026
-
The yen touched its strongest level since October in US trading Tuesday after comments from Japanese officials, including just recently the finance minister, fueled speculation that the government may intervene in the market to prevent the currency from resuming its decline.—
Mia Glass,
Bloomberg,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Some pets cannot resist chewing on houseplants.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Institutions, subcultures and artists have always found ways to resist homogenization.—
Ahmed Elgammal,
Fortune,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Its networking and optical connectivity chips function as the lifeline of modern data centers, averting bottlenecks as inference workloads expand across clusters.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Another special skill for binocular astronomers that isn’t intuitive is averted vision.—
Jase Parnell-Brookes,
Space.com,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Monday's situation at the airport was much calmer, despite below-freezing temperatures that caused the weekend's rainfall to turn back into ice.—
Dan Raby,
CBS News,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Morris shook Crockett’s hand before turning back down the sidewalk.—
Kate Armanini,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The more descriptive call of the play saw the Wild forward step in front of a Florida pass at the defensive blue line and head off on a break away from there, snapping a wrist shot past Bobrovsky to briefly give Minnesota a 3-2 lead.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
25 Jan. 2026
-
The colt won the Florida Derby and headed off to Louisville as one of the likely favorites — if not the favorite — for the Kentucky Derby.—
Clark Spencer,
Miami Herald,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Adi turned away as the needle found its vein, scanning the other man for a reaction but finding none.—
Jonathan Miles,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Multiple videos also show a federal agent in a gray jacket reaching into the scuffle empty-handed and emerging with a gun in his right hand, turning away from the man when the first shot is fired, then running across the street as more shots are fired.—
Nicole Sganga,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
For reasons that are quite possibly too unbearable to contemplate, a large group of American voters was not repulsed by such slander—they were actually aroused by it—and our politics have not been the same.—
Jeffrey Goldberg,
The Atlantic,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Nicole is the kind of wife who moves out of her father’s home into her husband’s home, and who has been taught to be repulsed by the mushroom spores covering her body, just like all the women in their community.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stave off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stave%20off. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
