What does staple mean?
A staple is most commonly a small metal fastener used to hold paper together. In its older and more figurative sense, however, it means something fundamental or regularly important: rice may be a staple of a community’s diet, and a particular commodity may be a staple of an economy. As an adjective, “staple” describes a principal product, activity, or feature. As a verb, it means to attach something with a staple, usually in an office, shop, or publishing context. The word can therefore suggest both practical physical fastening and the idea of a dependable foundation. Its historical connection with posts and pillars adds to its sense of support: a staple is something on which other parts of a structure or pattern depend.
A small U-shaped fastener used to secure sheets of paper or other thin materials.
"The pages were held together with a single staple."
Usually countable; “a staple” refers to the individual fastener, while “staples” can refer to fasteners collectively.
A product, commodity, crop, or other item that is regularly and extensively used or consumed.
"Coffee is a staple in many workplaces."
Common in economic, commercial, and everyday descriptions of regular consumption.
To fasten or secure something by means of a staple.
"The assistant stapled the completed forms together."
The verb is transitive and normally takes an object naming the material or items being fastened.
Principal, chief, or forming a regular and important part of something.
"The company specializes in staple groceries rather than luxury goods."
Usually used before a noun and common in commercial and economic contexts.
The plural refers to individual fasteners or to a collection of staple products; context usually makes the sense clear.
"The printer needed a box of staples."
From an Old English word for a post or pillar, “staple” grew to mean anything that holds a structure or market together.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does staple come from?
The word comes from Old English stæpel, meaning “post” or “pillar,” and was borrowed into Middle English in that sense. Its modern fastener meaning developed later, after staples were manufactured from bent wire. The older figurative sense also developed from the idea of a central post or pillar supporting something important.
Related word forms
How staple is actually used
In business and economic contexts, “staple” is commonly used for a product that is bought regularly and in substantial quantities. The adjective is usually formal or professional, while the fastener sense and the verb are everyday usages.
Easily confused with staple
A staple is a fastener or a principal product, whereas a stable is a building for horses or something firm and unlikely to change.