- (n.) A loop of iron or a bar or wire, bent and formed with two points to be driven into wood, to hold a hook, pin or the like.
- (n.) The fiber of wool, cotton, flax or the like; as, a coarse staple; a fine staple; a long or short staple.
- (a.) Established in commerce; occupying the markets; settled; as, a staple trade.
- (n.) The principal constituent in anything; chief item.
- (n.) A shaft, smaller and shorter than the principal one, joining different levels.
- (a.) Fit to be sold; marketable.
- (n.) Unmanufactured material; raw material.
- (n.) Hence: Place of supply; source; fountain head.
- (v.t.) To sort according to its staple; as, to staple cotton.
- (n.) A settled mart; an emporium; a city or town to which merchants brought commodities for sale or exportation in bulk; a place for wholesale traffic.
- (n.) The principal commodity of traffic in a market; a principal commodity or production of a country or district; as, wheat, maize, and cotton are great staples of the United States.
- (n.) A district granted to an abbey.
- (a.) Pertaining to or being market of staple for, commodities; as, a staple town.
- (n.) A small pit.
- (a.) Regularly produced or manufactured in large quantities; belonging to wholesale traffic; principal; chief.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). staple. Retrieved September 22, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/staple/definitions/2065907 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "staple" http://smartdefine.org/staple/definitions/2065907 (accessed September 22, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, staple, Smart Define, viewed 22 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/staple/definitions/2065907>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "staple" 28 May 2011. Web. 22 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/staple/definitions/2065907> |