stave off
Other forms: staved off; staving off; staves off
When you stave something off, you prevent it from happening. When you stave off a cold, you work to avoid getting one, maybe by drinking plenty of tea and eating oranges.
You might help stave off the closing of a library by donating money and writing letters to the city council, or stave off the winter blues by traveling to a Caribbean island for a week. The phrase to stave off has a long history, dating from 1620 when it was used to mean "fend off with a staff," the way you might stave off a pack of growling dogs.
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prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening
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Vocabulary lists containing stave off
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