staple

Plural: staples

Noun

• (usually plural) a necessary commodity for which demand is constant
• a natural fiber (raw cotton, wool, hemp, flax) that can be twisted to form yarn
  • "staple fibers vary widely in length"
• material suitable for manufacture or use or finishing
• a short U-shaped wire nail for securing cables
• paper fastener consisting of a short length of U-shaped wire that can fasten papers together
• 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.
• Place of supply; source.
• The principal commodity produced in a town or region.
• A basic or essential supply.
• A recurring topic or character.
• Short fiber, as of cotton, sheep’s wool, or the like, which can be spun into yarn or thread.
• Unmanufactured material; raw material.
• Any of several types of fastener comprising a bent piece of wire.
• A wire fastener, made of thin wire, used to secure stacks of paper by penetrating all the sheets and curling around.
• Any of several types of fastener comprising a bent piece of wire.
• A wire fastener, in any of various sizes, used to secure something else by penetrating and curling.
• Any of several types of fastener comprising a bent piece of wire.
• A U-shaped wire fastener, made of thick wire, used to attach fence wire or other material to posts or structures.
• One of a set of U-shaped metal rods hammered into a structure, such as a piling or wharf, which serve as a ladder.
• A shaft, smaller and shorter than the principal one, joining different levels.
• A small pit.
• A district granted to an abbey.
• A post; prop; support

Verb

• secure or fasten with a staple or staples
  • "staple the papers together"
• To sort according to its staple.
• To secure with a staple.

Adjective Satellite

• necessary or important, especially regarding food or commodities
  • "wheat is a staple crop"

Adj

• Relating to, or being market of staple for, commodities.
• Established in commerce; occupying the markets; settled.
• Fit to be sold; marketable.
• Regularly produced or manufactured in large quantities; belonging to wholesale traffic; principal; chief.

Examples

• "a staple town"
• "a staple trade"
• "Fortunately, there were staples in the quay wall, and she was able to climb out of the water."
• "Rice is a staple in the diet of many cultures."
• "The rancher used staples to attach the barbed wire to the fence posts."
• "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."
• "to staple cotton"

Synonyms

basic, raw material, staple fiber, staple fibre

Antonyms

unstaple

Related Words

Staple Hill

Anagrams of staple