to stave off
30
6.4
- phrasal verb
:
evitar
- Rental assistance is necessary to stave off the wave of evictions that we expect to happen.
- stave off disaster
- stave off collapse
- stave off a coup
And it's it's really a desperate attempt to try to stave off this tidal wave.
- And it's it's really a desperate attempt to try to stave off this tidal wave.
- And now is a great time for people to stave off boredom by learning new skills.
- The desperate men drank vinegar, Cologne and even ink to stave off thirst.
- They are only doing this as a prophylactic such that they stave off regulation which is now imminent.
- They are so singularly focused on the maintenance of their grandiose self, staving off threats, seeking out supply.
- Are your goals to be an elite bodybuilder or are your goals to stave off muscle atrophy?
- Is that something that I can stave off by making better choices with my life?
- No, it it, you know, if they use nuclear weapons, which they could do, yeah, to stave off defeat, it will get worse.
- I mean, the base one is life and death, whether that's the need to survive or the need to stave off extinction.
- At a low ebb of At a low ebb of hope, I asked my friend Doug Peacock how he staves off despair.
- And so the pre emptive strike, in my view, was the best chance that Israel had to stave off annihilation.
- So we've we've staved off the wolf at the door for, you know, at least until next year, I guess.
- But if you were going to recommend a daily walk, is there a duration and speed that you think you know could be beneficial in terms of staving off back pain?
Examples
-
So, if we can predict how far temperatures and rainfall will change, there may still be time to stave off widespread famine.
-
Yet the new loans, while staving off default, have done nothing to solve the debt crisis.
Academic text (1992) -
Medicine will not stave off this disease.
-
Is that something that I can stave off by making better choices with my life?
-
I mean, have I done everything I could possibly do to stave off disaster?
-
There is nothing you can do to stave off the inevitable.
-
So in your neighborhood, my question is what is the most effective method to stave off infections in the wild?
-
We keep the back channels open in hopes of staving off disaster.
-
This would stave off immediate defeat while we move to negotiations.
-
The government is implementing new policies to stave off a financial crisis.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To stay away from something or not do it to stop something bad from happening
113
2.9
Delay something until a later time
76
4.6
To turn attention away from a person or thing
73
5.0
To stop something bad from happening
49
5.3
To hold back a feeling or reaction so it does not show
34
4.4
To keep harmful or unpleasant things away from you
34
3.9
Keep unwanted people or things away so they do not harm you
23
4.8
Stop something from happening by acting early
17
7.1
Act early to stop a problem from happening
5
9.1
Prevent a problem or need by acting before it happens
2
9.9
To stop danger or harm from happening
To act before something happens to stop it
To stop something bad from happening
Antonyms
How Prevented
Surface Forms
Morphology
stave + off
The particle 'off' signals removal or keeping something away, which gives a hint, but the verb 'stave' is rare/archaic and its sense 'to ward/fend' is not an everyday meaning a B1 learner would easily generalize from. Thus there is a partial, metaphorical relation between the parts and the MWE meaning ('prevent/delay') but the exact sense is not fully predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
The phrase stave off may come from using a stave, a strong wooden stick, to push something off or away, like holding a stick to keep danger at a distance. That's why stave off now means 'to prevent or delay something bad'.