a piece of bent metal or wire pushed through something or clipped over it as a fastening, in particular 固定物体用的弯曲金属(或金属丝),尤指 ■a piece of thin wire with a long centre portion and two short end pieces which are driven by a stapler through sheets of paper to fasten them together 订书钉;肘钉 ■a small U-shaped metal bar with pointed ends for driving into wood to hold attachments such as electric wires, battens, or sheets of cloth in place U形钉
verb
[withobj. and adverbial of place]attach or secure with a staple or staples 用U形钉固定;用订书钉(或肘钉)钉 Merrill stapled a batch of papers together. 梅里尔用订书钉把一叠纸钉在一起。
语源
Old English stapol, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch stapel 'pillar' (a sense reflected in English in early use)
staple2 noun
a main or important element of something, especially of a diet 主要(或重要)成分;主食 bread, milk, and other staples. 面包、牛奶和别的主食。 Greek legend was the staple of classical tragedy. 希腊传说是古典悲剧的主要组成部分。 ■a main item of trade or production 主要商品;主要产品 rubber became the staple of the Malayan economy. 橡胶成了马来人经济的主要产品。
[mass noun]the fibre of cotton or wool considered with regard to its length and degree of fineness (棉花、羊毛的)纤维(与纤维的长度和精细度相关)
[often with modifier](historical)a centre of trade, especially in a specified commodity (史)(特定商品的)贸易中心 proposals were made for a wool staple at Pisa. 建议在比萨建立一个羊毛交易中心。
adjective
[attrib.]main or important, especially in terms of consumption (尤指消费方面)主要的,重要的 the staple foods of the poor. 穷人的主食。 violence is the staple diet of the video generation. 暴力是录像时代向观众灌输的主要东西。 ■most important in terms of trade or production (贸易或生产方面)最重要的 rice was the staple crop grown in most villages. 在大多数的村庄里稻子是最重要的农作物。
语源
Middle English (in sense 3): from Old French estaple 'market', from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch stapel 'pillar, emporium'; related to staple