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Staple

Noun CEFR C2 Specialized
ˈsteɪ.pəl

Definitions

  1. A village and civil parish in Dover district, Kent, England (OS grid ref TR2756).
  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.
  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.
  6. Place of supply; source.
  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.
  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.
  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.
  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.
  15. A small pit.
  16. Unmanufactured material; raw material.
  17. A district granted to an abbey.
  18. a type of two-pronged fastener, usually metal, used for joining, gathering, or binding materials together.
  19. A post; prop; support

Equivalents

28 more languages

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

C2
Mastery
This word is part of the CEFR C2 vocabulary — mastery level.
See all C2 English words →

See also

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