staple1
/ˈsteɪp(ə)l
/noun
1A piece of thin wire with two short right-angled end pieces which are driven by a stapler through sheets of paper to fasten them together.If you use paper on your compost, be aware of any plastic or staples in the paper - worms can't eat that!...
- It was a 31-page black and white booklet fastened with staples.
- The book was still held together by three staples.
1.1A U-shaped metal bar with pointed ends for driving into wood to hold things such as wires in place.The staple struck a knot in the wood, causing the staple to strike her safety glasses....
- Pin them down with U-shaped wire staples and cover with soil or mulch.
- He secures the end of each rope to the tree's bottom with a U-shaped staple, then wraps the tree from the bottom up, turning the cardboard slowly as he goes.
verb [with object and adverbial of place]
Attach or secure with a staple or staples: Merrill stapled a batch of papers together...
- Avoid nailing or stapling the wires in place, since this can easily damage the insulation jacket on the outside of the wire and create corrosion in the wire or a short circuit against the staple.
- Each page of the book is stapled or tacked to cork boards in four different buildings on campus.
- Chicken wire had been stapled across the hole with a small gap left at the bottom.
Origin
Old English stapol, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch stapel 'pillar' (a sense reflected in English in early use).
Rhymes
staple2
/ˈsteɪp(ə)l/noun
1A main or important element of something: bread, milk, and other staples Greek legend was the staple of classical tragedy...
- Bread, an important staple, is often purchased rather than home baked.
- While shark meat has become an important staple of some diets, in other cultures the animal holds a more special place on the menu.
- Salads and meat became the main staple of their diet.
1.1A main item of trade or production: rubber became the staple of the Malayan economy...
- Later as agents for Schneider's they shipped pig iron, rails and other ferrous products, bringing back those staples of the coastal trade, coal, grain and timber.
- First, the domestic production of food staples in developing countries was disrupted.
- Coffee, tea, and cocoa are all staples of the Fair Trade movement, and like opium, they're drugs - the strongest drugs the grocer can sell without having to check for documentation of your age.
2 [mass noun] The fibre of cotton or wool considered with regard to its length and degree of fineness: [in combination]: jackets made from long-staple Egyptian cotton [as modifier]: he tested the lint for staple length and strength...
- The long staple or long fiber of Egyptian-grown cotton means that there is more continuous fiber to use when creating threads or yarns.
- For men, shirts in light shades are crafted from fine long staple yarn.
3 [often with modifier] historical A centre of trade, especially in a specified commodity: proposals were made for a wool staple at Pisa...
- It is evident that the staple was primarily a fiscal organ of the crown, facilitating the collection of the royal customs.
adjective [attributive]
1Main or important, especially in terms of consumption: the staple foods of the poor figurative violence is the staple diet of the video generation...
- As plantation workers angrily told our reporters, this increase is not even enough to buy half a kilo of low quality rice - the country's main staple food.
- The main staple foods served with Ghanaian meals are rice, millet, corn, cassava, yams, and plantains.
- Mr Power said that despite health risks associated with obesity, many children were still being served a staple diet of processed food.
1.1Most important in terms of trade or production: rice was the staple crop grown in most villages...
- This component of the decrease appears to have been partially compensated for by an increase in the rate of forest clearance for the production of staple crops.
- Above all, this meant plantation agriculture, producing staple crops for export with slave labour.
- Hexaploid common wheat is one of the most important staple crops globally.
Origin
Middle English (in (sense 3 of the noun)): from Old French estaple 'market', from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch stapel 'pillar, emporium'; related to staple1.