staple

noun

1. (countable, historical, uncountable)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.

   “The customs of Alexandria were very great, it having been the staple of the Indian trade.”

   “For the increase of trade and the encouragement of the worthy burgesses of Woodstock, her majesty was minded to erect the town into a staple for wool.”

   “Calais was one of the ‘principal treasures’ of the crown, of both strategic and economic importance. It was home to the staple, the crown-controlled marketplace for England's lucrative textile trade, whose substantial customs and tax revenues flooded into Henry's coffers.”

2. (broadly, countable, uncountable)Place of supply; source.

   “Whitehall naturally became the chief staple of news. Whenever there was a rumour that anything important had happened or was about to happen, people hastened thither to obtain intelligence from the fountain head.”

3. (countable, uncountable)The principal commodity produced in a town or region.

   “The old staple of coal is a declining traffic; and what remains tends to be hauled a shorter distance, as new power stations are sited closer to coalfields.”

4. (countable, uncountable)A basic or essential supply.

   “Rice is a staple in the diet of many cultures.”

5. (countable, uncountable)A recurring topic, character, or item.

   “Lurid stories are a staple of tabloid journalism.”

   “In most countries, rubbish makes headlines only when it is not collected, and stinking sacks lie heaped on the streets. In Britain bins are a front-page staple.”

   “MTV quickly became a staple of pop culture after its launch, and was tied to countless historic moments in music, including the world premiere of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ video and the 16-hour broadcast of the Live Aid concerts in 1985.”

6. (countable, uncountable)Short fiber, as of cotton, sheep’s wool, or the like, which can be spun into yarn or thread.

   “Tow is flax with short staple.”

7. (countable, uncountable)Unmanufactured material; raw material.
8. Any of several types of fastener comprising a bent piece of wire.

   “They stapled the documents with an office stapler, putting a staple in the top left corner of each one.”

9. Any of several types of fastener comprising a bent piece of wire.

   “They stapled the housewrap with a staple gun firing large staples.”

10. Any of several types of fastener comprising a bent piece of wire.

    “The rancher used staples to attach the barbed wire to the fence posts.”

    “Esther's wrists were firmly tied, and the twisted rope was fastened to a strong staple in a heavy wooden joist above, near the fire-place. Here she stood, on a bench, her arms tightly drawn over her breast. Her back and shoulders were bare to the waist.”

11. One of a set of U-shaped metal rods hammered into a structure, such as a piling or wharf, which serve as a ladder.

    “Fortunately, there were staples in the quay wall, and she was able to climb out of the water.”

12. A shaft, smaller and shorter than the principal one, joining different levels.
13. A small pit.
14. A district granted to an abbey.

    “[Henry II] also granted liberty of coyning to certain Cities and Abbies, allowing them one staple and two puncheons at a rate, with certain restrictions.”

15. (obsolete)A post; prop; support

verb

1. (transitive)To sort according to its staple.

   “to staple cotton”

2. (transitive)To secure with a staple.

adj

1. (not-comparable)Relating to, or being market of staple for, commodities.

   “a staple town”

2. (not-comparable)Established in commerce; occupying the markets; settled.

   “a staple trade”

   “To ruin with worse ware our staple trade”

3. (not-comparable)Fit to be sold; marketable.

   “What needy writer would not solicit to work under such masters, who will pay us beforehand, take off as much of our ware as we please, at our own rates, and trouble not themselves to examine, either before or after they have bought it, whether it be staple, or not.”

4. (not-comparable)Regularly produced or manufactured in large quantities; belonging to wholesale traffic; principal; chief.

   “wool, the great staple commodity of England”

   “The pastoral industry, which had weathered the severe depression of the early forties by recourse to boiling down the sheep for their tallow, and was now firmly re-established as the staple industry of the colony, was threatened once more with eclipse.”

name

1. (countable, uncountable)A village and civil parish in Dover district, Kent, England (OS grid ref TR2756).
2. (countable, uncountable)A habitational surname from Middle English.