stave
/steɪv/
verb
- To break or smash (something) inward, especially by hitting it forcefully.
- The storm staved the fence panels, leaving them splintered.
- He accidentally staved the crate with a heavy hammer.
- The rock staved in the side of the wooden boat.
- To ward off or delay something, usually used with 'off' (see 'stave off').
- The team hoped to stave defeat with a last-minute goal.
- They tried to stave disaster with quick repairs.
- A good breakfast can stave hunger until lunch.
noun
- A long, narrow piece of wood used to form the sides of a barrel, bucket, or similar container.
- The cooper carefully shaped each stave before assembling the barrel.
- Old wine barrels are made from oak staves held together by metal hoops.
- The craftsman replaced a cracked stave in the wooden bucket.
- A staff or stick, especially one used as a weapon or for support while walking.
- The shepherd used a long stave to guide his sheep along the path.
- In the medieval tale, the wizard carried a gnarled stave of ash wood.
- The old traveler leaned on his sturdy stave as he climbed the hill.
- A set of five horizontal lines on which music is written; a staff.
- Learning to read notes on the stave is the first step in music theory.
- The composer wrote the melody on the treble stave.
- She drew a stave on the chalkboard and filled it with quarter notes.
- A verse or stanza of a poem or song.
- The choir sang the final stave with great emotion.
- Each stave of the song tells a different part of the story.
- The poet recited the first stave of his epic ballad.