Meaning of Staple | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A village and civil parish in Dover district, Kent, England (OS grid ref TR2756).
   countable, uncountable
2. A town containing merchants who have exclusive right, under royal authority, to purchase or produce certain goods for export; also, the body of such merchants seen as a group.
   countable, historical, uncountable
3. Any of several types of fastener comprising a bent piece of wire.
4. A wire fastener, made of thin wire, used to secure stacks of paper by penetrating all the sheets and curling around.
5. A habitational surname from Middle English.
   countable, uncountable
6. Place of supply; source.
   broadly, countable, uncountable
7. A wire fastener, in any of various sizes, used to secure something else by penetrating and curling.
8. The principal commodity produced in a town or region.
   countable, uncountable
9. A U-shaped wire fastener, made of thick wire, used to attach fence wire or other material to posts or structures.
10. A basic or essential supply.
    countable, uncountable
11. One of a set of U-shaped metal rods hammered into a structure, such as a piling or wharf, which serve as a ladder.
12. A recurring topic or character.
    countable, uncountable
13. A shaft, smaller and shorter than the principal one, joining different levels.
14. Short fiber, as of cotton, sheep’s wool, or the like, which can be spun into yarn or thread.
    countable, uncountable
15. A small pit.
16. Unmanufactured material; raw material.
    countable, uncountable
17. A district granted to an abbey.
18. a type of two-pronged fastener, usually metal, used for joining, gathering, or binding materials together.
    countable, uncountable
19. A post; prop; support
    obsolete

Equivalents

Examples

“The customs of Alexandria were very great, it having been the staple of the Indian trade.”

“For the increase of trade and the encouragement of the worthy burgesses of Woodstock, her majesty was minded to erect the town into a staple for wool.”

“Calais was one of the ‘principal treasures’ of the crown, of both strategic and economic importance. It was home to the staple, the crown-controlled marketplace for England's lucrative textile trade, whose substantial customs and tax revenues flooded into Henry's coffers.”

“Whitehall naturally became the chief staple of news. Whenever there was a rumour that anything important had happened or was about to happen, people hastened thither to obtain intelligence from the fountain head.”

“The old staple of coal is a declining traffic; and what remains tends to be hauled a shorter distance, as new power stations are sited closer to coalfields.”

“Rice is a staple in the diet of many cultures.”

“In most countries, rubbish makes headlines only when it is not collected, and stinking sacks lie heaped on the streets. In Britain bins are a front-page staple.”

“Tow is flax with short staple.”

“They stapled the documents with an office stapler, putting a staple in the top left corner of each one.”

“They stapled the housewrap with a staple gun firing large staples.”

“The rancher used staples to attach the barbed wire to the fence posts.”

“Esther's wrists were firmly tied, and the twisted rope was fastened to a strong staple in a heavy wooden joist above, near the fire-place. Here she stood, on a bench, her arms tightly drawn over her breast. Her back and shoulders were bare to the waist.”

“Fortunately, there were staples in the quay wall, and she was able to climb out of the water.”

“[Henry II] also granted liberty of coyning to certain Cities and Abbies, allowing them one staple and two puncheons at a rate, with certain restrictions.”

CEFR level