- staple
- ▪ I. staple sta‧ple 1 [ˈsteɪpl] noun [countable]1. OFFICE a small piece of thin wire that is pushed into sheets of paper and bent over to hold them together2. a food that is needed and used all the time:
• staples like flour and rice
3. ECONOMICS the main product that is produced in a country:• Bananas and sugar are the staples of Jamaica.
4. COMMERCE a standard or common product:• The Kiwi fruit quickly became a supermarket staple in the expanding section of exotic fruits.
[m0] ▪ II. staple staple 2 verb [transitive]to fasten things, especially sheets of paper, together with a staple:• He stapled a batch of papers together.
[m0] ▪ III. staple staple 3 adjective [only before a noun]a staple food, product, activity etc is one that is basic, most important, or standard:• Oil is Nigeria's staple export.
• These garments are now becoming a staple product of the company.
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Ⅰ.staple UK US /ˈsteɪpl/ noun [C]► WORKPLACE a short thin piece of wire used to fasten pieces of paper together. It has sharp ends that are pushed through the paper and then bent flat by a special tool called a stapler.► ECONOMICS, COMMERCE the main product of a country, whose trade is important for the country's economy: »Sugar has been the staple of Cuba's economy for centuries.
► COMMERCE a main or important product that people eat or use regularly: food/household/supermarket staples »The giant retailer reported strong sales of household staples like groceries.
► COMMERCE a company or industry that manufactures and sells important products and services that people eat or use regularly: »So-called safe areas in the stock market continue to be consumer staples and drug companies.
»Millions of people daily use internet staples such as Google and Amazon.
► a main or important part of something: »Once a staple of men's business wardrobes, the suit is becoming more rare.
Ⅱ.staple UK US /ˈsteɪpl/ adjective [before noun]► basic, main, or standard: »staple crop/food/product
Ⅲ.staple UK US /ˈsteɪpl/ verb [T] WORKPLACE► to fasten pieces of paper together using staples: staple sth to sth »The list can then be stapled to each batch of invoices.
staple sth together »She stapled the two documents together.
Financial and business terms. 2012.
