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
Listen to this article 2 min Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a playoff career-high 40 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder staved off the Minnesota Timberwolves fourth quarter comeback attempt on Monday.
—
Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 27 May 2025
The Field of 64 will be revealed Monday. UConn, which staved off elimination on Thursday and Friday, left 11 men on base, went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left the bases loaded in the second, third and seventh innings.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 25 May 2025
That’s how cornerback Nick McCloud staved off a pay cut until midseason last year.
—Dan Duggan, New York Times, 21 May 2025
Scientists believe some of these palm-sized coral babies — 1,050 of them in total — contain the special ingredients to stave off a warming ocean that has damaged 84% of the world’s reefs since 2023.
—Max Chesnes, Sun Sentinel, 18 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for stave off
Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 27 May 2025
The Field of 64 will be revealed Monday. UConn, which staved off elimination on Thursday and Friday, left 11 men on base, went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left the bases loaded in the second, third and seventh innings.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 25 May 2025
That’s how cornerback Nick McCloud staved off a pay cut until midseason last year.
—Dan Duggan, New York Times, 21 May 2025
Scientists believe some of these palm-sized coral babies — 1,050 of them in total — contain the special ingredients to stave off a warming ocean that has damaged 84% of the world’s reefs since 2023.
—Max Chesnes, Sun Sentinel, 18 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for stave off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stave off
Verb
-
Some companion plants are either trap plants, which will distract the bugs, or plants that will repel them with their scent.—
Heather Bien,
Southern Living,
4 June 2025
-
Strikes were also repelled in the Amur region in Russia's Far East and in the western regions of Ivanovo and Ryazan, the ministry said.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
2 June 2025
Verb
-
Iran's arch-foe Israel, which sees Tehran's nuclear programme as an existential threat, has repeatedly threatened to bomb the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.—
Parisa Hafezi,
USA Today,
5 June 2025
-
While much of the existing research in Australia on intimate partner violence has rightly focused on survivors and their stories, Martin said, this study takes a new approach by studying perpetrators to better understand how to prevent violence.—
Lex Harvey,
CNN Money,
5 June 2025
Verb
-
Djokovic, who usually plays on the far more cavernous Chatrier, stepped back from the baseline, smiled, resisted his tendency to troll and got busy with finishing the match.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
-
Following the ordeal, Jung couldn't resist reliving the experience and sharing it on social media.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 May 2025
Verb
-
The enclave needs at least 500 to 600 trucks daily to avert a deepening humanitarian catastrophe, as civilians face a severe shortage of supplies like food and medicine, said UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in Gaza.—
Jeremy Diamond,
CNN Money,
26 May 2025
-
Over the course of Thursday’s six-hour meeting, the council: Restored positions at the Department of Cultural Affairs, averting the closure of the historic Hollyhock House in East Hollywood, protecting its status as a UNESCO World Heritage site.—
David Zahniser,
Los Angeles Times,
23 May 2025
Verb
-
The two occupants of the jet ski stopped and started to turn back, but then sped away after apparently realizing Moore was injured.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
28 May 2025
-
Given that plastics are originally made as a by-product of fossil fuels, the idea that they can be turned back into fossil fuels shouldn’t be so surprising.—
Josiah Neeley,
Oc Register,
21 May 2025
Verb
-
The airfield famously hosted an aeronautical school in the 1940s, when the Army Air Corps relied on the facility to train aviators headed off to fight World War II.—
Lucas Robinson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 May 2025
-
Doing so heads off the job board chaos to begin with.—
Rebecca Fraser-Thill,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2025
Verb
-
Taking time for yourself isn’t turning away but refueling for what lies ahead.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
29 May 2025
-
How can anyone turn away from the plight of a starving child?—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 May 2025
Verb
-
But throughout the series, he became increasingly repulsed by these actions, which included enslaving thousands of women.—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
27 May 2025
-
With every cringe, with every critique of her family’s behavior, Piper has been telegraphing that those values repulse her.—
Cyndy Etler,
Hartford Courant,
28 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stave off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stave%20off. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share