Meaning

(now historical) 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..

Definitions by Sense

1. (now historical) 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.
2. (by extension) Place of supply; source.
3. The principal commodity produced in a town or region.
4. A basic or essential supply.
5. A recurring topic, character, or item.
6. Short fiber, as of cotton, sheep’s wool, or the like, which can be spun into yarn or thread.
7. Unmanufactured material; raw material.
8. (transitive) To sort according to its staple.

Example Sentences

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.

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.

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.

Rice is a staple in the diet of many cultures.

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.

Word Forms

• staples
• stapling
• stapled

Synonyms for staple

Antonyms for staple

Related Words

When Should You Use Staple?

Use staple when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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