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
Regular use can also improve overall hair health because the bonding technology works to stave off further damage.
—
Danielle Sinay, Glamour, 23 Mar. 2026
While other local stores struggled, Outpost weathered the COVID-19 pandemic with support from its members and staved off staff cuts, according to Margaret Mittelstadt, director of community relations and Outpost staff member since 2004.
—Francesca Pica, jsonline.com, 23 Mar. 2026
Borek credited Muszelik with perhaps an even tougher challenge of having to stave off sporadic waves, versus the consistent pressure Lundgren faced.
—Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 22 Mar. 2026
Under a mid-morning sun, huddled beneath tents and silver tarps, doctors and nurses handed patients at a homeless outreach clinic water bottles, hats, sunglasses and cooling towels to drape around their necks — all to stave off the worst effects of a premature triple-digit heat wave.
—Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 21 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stave off
Danielle Sinay, Glamour, 23 Mar. 2026
While other local stores struggled, Outpost weathered the COVID-19 pandemic with support from its members and staved off staff cuts, according to Margaret Mittelstadt, director of community relations and Outpost staff member since 2004.
—Francesca Pica, jsonline.com, 23 Mar. 2026
Borek credited Muszelik with perhaps an even tougher challenge of having to stave off sporadic waves, versus the consistent pressure Lundgren faced.
—Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 22 Mar. 2026
Under a mid-morning sun, huddled beneath tents and silver tarps, doctors and nurses handed patients at a homeless outreach clinic water bottles, hats, sunglasses and cooling towels to drape around their necks — all to stave off the worst effects of a premature triple-digit heat wave.
—Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 21 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stave off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stave off
Verb
-
In drills, Taiwan has rehearsed repelling a seaborne assault with drones, fast patrol craft, mobile Hsiung Feng anti-ship missiles and Marine Corps teams.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2026
-
The housekeeping team fogs the balés every week to keep most of the biting insects at bay, and gardens teeming with mosquito-repelling lemongrass and zodia plants help keep them at a distance.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Having legal documents on hand, at a lawyer’s office or in a file cabinet not only provides peace of mind, but can prevent conflict and legal fees when tragedy or challenges arise.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The president has repeatedly said preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon was the war's top objective.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Against a backdrop of social and geopolitical change, amid profound transformation both in Georgia and across the South Caucasus, their stories reveal how the will to dream, to resist, and to love becomes its own quiet blaze.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Serious worm farmers will want to invest in some worm food to ensure their nightcrawlers get the perfect balance of protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, and minerals to create a plump, tasty bait that no self-respecting fish can resist.—
Joe Cermele,
Outdoor Life,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Like in the Rangers’ final exhibition game Tuesday, when a Jack Leiter pitch was reversed from a ball to a strike, meaning a walk became a strikeout and a potential unraveling was thus averted.—
Kevin Sherrington
Mar. 25,
Dallas Morning News,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Those federal funds averted over 12,000 evictions in Milwaukee.—
Gina Lee Castro,
jsonline.com,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The aircraft, carrying a flight instructor and student pilot, had climbed to roughly 1,700 feet before turning back toward the airport.—
Stephen Sorace,
FOXNews.com,
1 Apr. 2026
-
An American journalist who was kidnapped in Baghdad had tried to cross from Syria into Iraq three weeks earlier and was initially turned back, an Iraqi official said Wednesday.—
Qassim Abdul-Zahra,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
That’s how, last night, the best golfer most of us have ever seen slinked out of a Florida jail shortly before midnight and headed off into an uncertain future.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN Money,
28 Mar. 2026
-
The voice-over exchange on racial identity is played as obvious parody — the satire screaming its head off in case anyone should question the play’s point of view.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Because being with their own thoughts, emotions and bodily sensations can be so difficult, people often turn away from them.—
J. David Creswell,
The Conversation,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Still, Brooks’s turn away from politics and toward a more therapeutic project has not been wholly unhelpful.—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Sigmund Freud believed that every crush has a strand of disgust, that people are attracted to what repulses them.—
Daniel Felsenthal,
Vulture,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Cilantro, a polarizing herb that’s either adored in Mexican, Southeast Asian, and Indian cuisines, or repulsed by those who detect a nauseating soapy taste.—
Catharine Kaufman,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stave off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stave%20off. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
