1. one of the thin, narrow, shaped pieces of wood that form the sides of a cask, tub, or similar vessel.
2. a stick, rod, pole, or the like.
3. a rung of a ladder, chair, etc.
4. Prosody.
• a verse or stanza of a poem or song.
• the alliterating sound in a line of verse, as the w-sound in wind in the willows.
5. staff¹ (def. 10).

6. to break in a stave or staves of (a cask or barrel) so as to release the wine, liquor, or other contents.
7. to release (wine, liquor, etc.) by breaking the cask or barrel.
8. to break or crush (something) inward (often followed by in).
9. to break (a hole) in, especially in the hull of a boat.
10. to break to pieces; splinter; smash.
11. to furnish with a stave or staves.
12. to beat with a stave or staff.

13. to become staved in, as a boat; break in or up.
14. to move along rapidly.

15. stave off,
• to put, ward, or keep off, as by force or evasion.
• to prevent in time; forestall: He wasn't able to stave off bankruptcy.

1. any one of a number of long strips of wood joined together to form a barrel, bucket, boat hull, etc
2. any of various bars, slats, or rods, usually of wood, such as a rung of a ladder or a crosspiece bracing the legs of a chair
3. any stick, staff, etc
4. a stanza or verse of a poem
5. music
• an individual group of five lines and four spaces used in staff notation
• another word for staff 1 (def. 9)

6. to break or crush (the staves of a boat, barrel, etc) or (of the staves of a boat) to be broken or crushed
7. to burst or force (a hole in something)
8. to provide (a ladder, chair, etc) with a stave or staves
9. to sprain (a finger, toe, etc)

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