staple Hear it!

staple¹ Definition

sta·ple (stā′pəl)

noun

  1. the chief commodity, or any of the most important commodities, made, grown, or sold in a particular place, region, country, etc.
  2. a chief item, part, material, or element in anything
  3. any chief item of trade, regularly stocked and in constant demand flour, sugar, and salt are staples
  4. the fiber of cotton, wool, flax, etc., with reference to length and fineness

Etymology: ME stapel < OFr estaple < MDu stapel, mart, emporium, post, orig. support, akin to staple

adjective

  1. regularly found on the market or in stock as a result of a constant demand
  2. produced, consumed, or exported regularly and in quantity
  3. most important; leading; principal staple industries

transitive verb -·pled, -·pling

to sort (wool, cotton, etc.) according to the nature of its staple

staple² Definition

sta·ple (stā′pəl)

noun

  1. a -shaped piece of metal with sharp, pointed ends, driven into a surface to keep a hook, hasp, wire, etc. firmly in place
  2. a similar piece of thin wire driven through papers and clinched over as a binding

Etymology: ME stapel < OE stapol, post, pillar, akin to Ger stapel, stake, beam: for IE base see stamp

transitive verb -·pled, -·pling

to fasten or bind with a staple or staples

staple Synonyms

staple

modif.

standard, chief, essential; see necessary 1, principal.

staple Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • cuisine: However, it's the piquant local dishes as much as the imported staples of French cuisine that make dining such a treat.
  • diet: Karen's research is concentrated on the chick pea plant, which is a staple of the Indian diet.
  • genre: Fantasy adventure in a tropical climate with its roots far from the northern European staples of the genre.
  • cinema: The plot has plenty of modern resonances: the relationship between a couple mismatched by class is a staple of cinema ( e.g.

Converse of object

  • become: Emails have already become a staple of court cases.
  • remove: I think he's also trying to... ( IRIS FINSTER continues to remove staples.
  • remain: His best known work in English - The Poetics of Space - remains a staple on architecture courses everywhere today.

Adjective modifier

  • dietary: Maize ( or corn ) is also an important dietary staple in much of the third world.
  • usual: Also ceilidhs, barn dances and all the usual other folk staples.
  • traditional: Rice is the staple on most of the islands although other traditional staples include corn, sago, cassava and sweet potatoes.
  • basic: We are planning on having basic staples for sale on-site this year.
  • classic: Citrus was the classic staple of the country's modern agriculture.

Modifies a noun

  • diet: Pasta is part of the staple diet in Southern Italy.
  • crop: Free trade in a staple crop looks rational from an economic point of view.
  • remover: Placing well-spaced staples at an angle, the staple remover can be inserted without damaging the show wood.
  • foodstuff: The price of corn - a staple foodstuff - rose by 250 % during the same time.
  • food: The staple food, maize meal, cannot be found.
  • gun: A staple gun is still a staple gun, with or without a supply of staples.

Noun used with modifier

  • wardrobe: They have been a wardrobe staple for centuries, and a wedding attire tradition.
  • iron: The iron staples which held the collar or gorget were visible not many years ago.