|
  • Search Results
  • Advanced Search
  • List Builder
  • Random Word

staple

Bread. Milk. Gasoline. Xboxes. What do these all have in common? They're all a staple of most people's consumption — basic products for which there will always be a demand.

Staple also has the broader more abstract sense of being anything that's popular or necessary. A staple of the political scene is partisan bickering; a staple of Broadway theater is the musical revival. And let's not forget another meaning — those handy little metal clasps that hold things together. Though most people wouldn't consider a staple a staple.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: staple

1
 nadj
material suitable for manufacture or use or finishing
necessary or important, especially regarding food or commodities
2
 nv
a short U-shaped wire nail for securing cables
secure or fasten with a staple or staples
FULL DEFINITIONS OF: staple
1

n material suitable for manufacture or use or finishing

Synonyms:
raw material
Types:
feedstock
the raw material that is required for some industrial process
Type of:
material, stuff
the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object

n (usually plural) a necessary commodity for which demand is constant

Synonyms:
basic
Type of:
commodity, good, trade good
articles of commerce

n a natural fiber (raw cotton, wool, hemp, flax) that can be twisted to form yarn

“staple fibers vary widely in length”
Synonyms:
staple fiber, staple fibre
Type of:
natural fiber, natural fibre
fiber derived from plants or animals

adj necessary or important, especially regarding food or commodities

“wheat is a staple crop”
Synonyms
essential
basic and fundamental
2

n a short U-shaped wire nail for securing cables

Type of:
nail
a thin pointed piece of metal that is hammered into materials as a fastener

n paper fastener consisting of a short length of U-shaped wire that can fasten papers together

Type of:
paper fastener
a fastener for holding a sheet of paper in place

v secure or fasten with a staple or staples

“staple the papers together”
Antonyms:
unstaple
take the staples off
Type of:
fasten, fix, secure
cause to be firmly attached
Learn Launch
WORD FAMILY
USAGE EXAMPLES