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stave off

B2 neutral separable transitive
In simple words

To stop something bad from happening, at least for a while

Literal meaning: To push something away with a stave (a stick or pole) — keeping danger at arm's length

Meanings

1 B2 idiomatic neutral

To prevent something dangerous or undesirable from happening

"The government announced emergency measures to stave off a financial crisis."

""We took these actions to stave off a possible depression.""

— Barack Obama, remarks on the economy, February 2009
Grammar: separable
2 B2 neutral

To delay the effects of something, such as hunger, fatigue, or decline

"She ate a handful of nuts to stave off hunger until dinner."

Grammar: separable
Usage notes

Common in both journalistic and everyday English. Frequently appears in news contexts (stave off recession, stave off defeat). Implies that the problem is real and threatening, and that preventing it requires effort. The image is of pushing something away with a staff (pole).

Commonly used with

disaster hunger recession defeat crisis boredom illness

Forms

Base
stave off
I/you/we/they
3rd person
staves off
he/she/it
Past simple
staved off
yesterday
Past participle
staved off
have + pp
-ing form
staving off
continuous

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Synonyms

ward off fend off prevent avert hold at bay forestall

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