staple

staple
verb [ T ]
UK  /;ste;.p;l/ US  /;ste;.p;l/
 
to fasten something using staples:
Would you mind stapling the reports together?
 SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
(Definition of staple from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)
staple | AMERICAN DICTIONARY
staple
noun [ C ]
US  /;ste;·p;l/
staple noun [C] (WIRE)
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a short, thin, U-shaped piece of wire with ends that bend to fasten sheets of paper together:
Put a staple in the upper left-hand corner.
 
A staple is also a small, thick, U-shaped piece of metal with sharp ends that is hammered into a surface to hold something in place.
staple noun [C] (BASIC ITEM)
 
a basic food, or a main product or material:
Because of the storm, most stores were low on staples such as bread and milk.
Scandals are a newspaper staple.
 
staple
adjective [ not gradable ]
US  /;ste;·p;l/
staple adjective [not gradable] (BASIC )
 
basic or main:
staple foods

 
staple
verb [ T ]
US  /;ste;·p;l/
staple verb [T] (USE WIRE)
 
to use a staple to fasten sheets of paper together:
Please staple the reports together.
(Definition of staple from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)
staple | BUSINESS ENGLISH
staple
noun [ C ]
UK  /;ste;pl/ US
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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.
 
staple
adjective [ before noun ]
UK  /;ste;pl/ US
 
basic, main, or standard:
staple crop/food/product

 
staple
verb [ T ]   WORKPLACE
UK  /;ste;pl/ US
 
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.
(Definition of staple from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)
EXAMPLES of staple
staple
By the early nineteenth century both were becoming staples of working-class diet.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
However, the existence of local markets for food encouraged farmers to produce these staples for sale in addition to home consumption.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Early movement activity drew upon and innovated with traditional repertoire staples such as the round table discussion, the march, and the public pronouncement.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Ring bound or stapled, they are provided at minimum cost and thus available to both amateur and professional alike.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The wound was irrigated with saline and closed in two layers with 3-0 silk (fascial plane) and surgical skin staples.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Landes claims that this was another hindrance, as rice has a lower nutritional content than other staples.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Each bag was placed on mineral soil surface and pinned to the ground with wire staples to minimize movement.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The two commodities contrasted with rubber's strong linkage effects, and serve as a reminder that staples may differ greatly in their spread effects over time.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Rather, urbanization and the industrialization based on the processing of staples were both driven by the export of these commodities.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
During the previous century, trade had increased dramatically as new products - sugar, tobacco and cotton - not produced in the importing region became international staples.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
There were of course other crops, but these were the main staples of a very commercial agriculture.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
We learn nothing about such staples as the seasonality of labour or the administration of the poor law.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
By the mid 1920s, display advertisements for consumer durables, leisure activities and homes outstripped those for traditional staples such as clothing or foodstuffs.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
To a large extent, the effects of the decline of the great export staples spread throughout the local economies of the outer regions.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The recent lessons of the depression - falling commodity prices, overproduction of certain agricultural staples - indicated otherwise.
From the Cambridge English Corpus