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stave off

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
stave someone or something off
to hold someone or something off; to defend against the attack of someone or something. (See also stave something off.) The citizen was not able to stave the mugger off. The army staved off the attackers for three hours without letup.
See also: stave

stave something off

to delay or postpone something unwanted, such as hunger, foreclosure, death, etc. (See also stave someone or something off.) He could stave his thirst off no longer. Despite the enemy sentries, he made a dash for the stream. The lost hiker could not stave off her hunger any longer.
See also: stave
stave off something also stave something off
to keep something away or keep something from happening The Federal Reserve lowered interest rates to boost the economy and stave off a recession. Death is natural and inevitable - we can't stave it off forever.
Related vocabulary: fend off something
See also: stave
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A sort of shivering gentility had kept her aloof from the rest of her fellow-workers, but it took more than a shivering gentility to stave off Polly.
Uneasy Money by Wodehouse, Pelham Grenville View in context
The messengers who may ask for any of us will not be witnesses only, they may help to stave off danger.
The Lair of the White Worm by Stoker, Bram View in context
Oftentimes Tarzan went empty for more than a full sun, and he had passed through entire moons during which he had been but barely able to stave off starvation; but such times were infrequent.
Jungle Tales of Tarzan by Burroughs, Edgar Rice View in context
 
 
 
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