- 1a small piece of wire that is used in a device called a stapler and is pushed through pieces of paper and bent over at the ends in order to fasten the pieces of paper together See related entries: In the office
- 2a small piece of metal in the shape of a U that is hit into wooden surfaces using a hammer, used especially for holding electrical wires in place
- 3a basic type of food that is used a lot Aid workers helped distribute corn, milk and other staples. Wordfindercropblight, cereal, crop, genetically modified, grain, harvest, monoculture, organic, staple, yield See related entries: Diet, Crops
- 4something that is produced by a country and is important for its economy Rubber became the staple of the Malayan economy.
- 5staple (of something) a large or important part of something Royal gossip is a staple of the tabloid press. Word Originnoun senses 1 to 2 Old English stapol, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch stapel ‘pillar’ (a sense reflected in English in early use). noun senses 3 to 5 Middle English (originally referring to a centre of trade): from Old French estaple ‘market’, from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch stapel ‘pillar, emporium’; related to the verb staple.
staple
nounBrE BrE//ˈsteɪpl//; NAmE NAmE//ˈsteɪpl//
Diet, In the office, Crops
Check pronunciation: staple
