[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/staple/)

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# staple

noun (a staple, staples); verb (staple, staples, stapled, stapling); adjective (staple)

«staple» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A small piece of thin bent wire pushed through papers to hold them together. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/staple/#m1)
2. To fasten things together with staples. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/staple/#m2)
3. A basic food or thing that people use or eat all the time, such as rice or bread. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/staple/#m3)
4. (adjective) Main, basic, most important: a staple food. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/staple/#m4)
5. A U-shaped metal pin hammered into wood to hold a wire. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/staple/#m5)

### In the lessons

In the classroom a stapler puts staples in worksheets. In geography and history, «staple foods» are the main foods of a place: rice in much of Asia, potatoes in Ireland in the past, maize, wheat. In everyday life «a staple» is something you always have. Phrases: «staple food», «staple diet», «staple the pages», «a staple of».

### Examples

- Please staple your pages together before you hand them in. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/staple/#x1)
- The stapler has run out of staples. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/staple/#x2)
- Rice is the staple food for billions of people. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/staple/#x3)
- Bread and milk are staples in our kitchen. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/staple/#x4)
- Fish was a staple of their diet. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/staple/#x5)
- The teacher stapled our drawings on the board. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/staple/#x6)
- Be careful not to staple your finger! [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/staple/#x7)
- Pasta is a staple in our house. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/staple/#x8)
- But beside these more modern collections there exist in old and middle Irish a large number of hero-tales (class 2) which formed the staple of the old ollahms or bards. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/staple/#x9)

### Note

«Staple» (a fastener, or a basic thing) is not «stable» (steady, or a building for horses). Stapling: drop the «e» before -ing. The machine is a «stapler». The adjective sense comes before a noun: «a staple food».

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «staple» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/staple/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«staple» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/staple.html) on Mova free.