stave off

verb

Definition of stave offnext
1
as in to repel
to drive back managed to stave off the invaders

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 Lots of wells off the coast of California are in decline, and fracking might reverse that trend — and stave off decommissioning costs. — Andre Mouchard, Oc Register, 9 Aug. 2026 Those measures haven’t shown the same benefits for working-age adults, who are more likely to turn to illicit drugs for pain relief or to stave off withdrawal than for experimentation, Raville said. — Meg Wingerter, Denver Post, 9 Aug. 2026 Save the endowment, rather than lose it in trying to stave off an institutional death spiral. — Jim Nowlan, Chicago Tribune, 9 Aug. 2026 The president’s Justice Department is demanding voter rolls from states, and state officials are right to refuse to stave off unfair elections. — Ellen Kurz, New York Daily News, 6 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for stave off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stave off
  1. repel
  2. prevent
  3. resist
  4. avert
  5. turn back
  6. head off
  7. turn away
  8. repulse
Verb
  • Baking soda mixed with powdered sugar can repel ants and cockroaches.
    — Ashley Chalmers, The Spruce, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The narrator, though curious to speak herself, is finally repelled.
    — Maya Binyam, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of repel
Verb
  • In May of last year, an Army helicopter that was instructed to fly over the Pentagon helipad forced controllers to order two flights to abort landings at Reagan National Airport to prevent collisions.
    — Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Would New York authorities be willing to use their own police powers to, say, prevent federal agents from violating protesters’ constitutional rights or investigate crimes allegedly committed by federal agents?
    — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of prevent
Verb
  • Refusing to step out when instructed can lead to charges like interfering with public duties or resisting detention, even if the underlying stop was for a minor violation.
    — Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Roq Innovation Raquel Graham dreamed up NEKZ, a scarf alternative, when her children resisted wearing them during Chicago’s frigid winters.
    — Elaine Pofeldt, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of resist
Verb
  • The Senate passed a bipartisan bill to avert a federal government shutdown starting in October, and the measure now heads to the House.
    — Theodoric Meyer, Washington Post, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The Senate just went out with a bang ‒ passing a government funding bill to try to avert another shutdown, confirming Todd Blanche as attorney general and bucking a voter ID measure.
    — Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of avert
Verb
  • Cubans are planning their lives around the lights turning back on.
    — Andrea Rodriguez, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2026
  • At times, they were seen swerving around other drivers and driving at speeds up to 95 miles per hour in the northbound lanes before getting onto the westbound I-10, exiting near downtown and then turning back toward Boyle Heights on surface streets.
    — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of turn back
Verb
  • Finally, heading off to senior year wearing a Care Bears backpack could be a coping mechanism that helps teens deal with fears about the future.
    — Melissa Willets, Parents, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman star as Iris and Isaac, a couple who head off on their first romantic weekend getaway together to a farmhouse in upstate New York.
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of head off
Verb
  • New Zealanders must now be registered and have their addresses and other details updated in the system 13 days before election day, or they will be turned away from polling places.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The coroner’s report said that Khalil died in the evening from cardiac arrest due to head trauma and severe bleeding, hours after paramedics initially entered the area and were turned away, said Human Rights Watch’s Lebanon Researcher Ramzi Kaiss.
    — Kareem Chehayeb, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of turn away
Verb
  • Most Americans are repulsed by the core ideas of radical leftists.
    — Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Philly may be shedding its second-fiddle status, but it remains entirely repulsed by frauds and underachievers.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 24 July 2026
Definition of repulse

Browse Nearby Words

staved off
stave off
staves off
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Cite this Entry

“Stave off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stave%20off. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of stave off for Spanish Speakers

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