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long staple


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WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
sta•ple1 /ˈsteɪpəl/USA pronunciation   n., v., -pled, -pling. 
n. 
    [countable]
    1. a short piece of wire bent so as to hold together papers or the like by driving the ends through the sheets and bending them together on the other side.

    v. [~ + object]
    1. to fasten by a staple or staples:Staple the pages together.
    sta•pler, n. [countable]

sta•ple2 /ˈsteɪpəl/USA pronunciation   n. 
    [countable]
  1. Businessa principal raw material or product grown or manufactured in a locality.
  2. a basic or necessary item of food:flour, salt, and other staples.
  3. a basic or principal item, feature, or part:respect, trust, commitment: the staples of a marriage.

adj. [before a noun]
  1. chief among the products exported or produced by a country:staple crops.
  2. basic, chief, or principal:staple industries; a staple diet.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
sta•ple1  (stā′pəl),USA pronunciation n., v., -pled, -pling. 
n. 
  1. a short piece of wire bent so as to bind together papers, sections of a book, or the like, by driving the ends through the sheets and clinching them on the other side.
  2. Buildinga similar, oftenU-shaped piece of wire or metal with pointed ends for driving into a surface to hold a hasp, hook, pin, bolt, wire, or the like.

v.t. 
  1. to secure or fasten by a staple or staples:to staple three sheets together.
  • bef. 900; Middle English stapel origin, originally, support, post, Old English stapol; cognate with Middle Dutch stapel foundation, German Stapel pile, Old Norse stǫpull pillar

sta•ple2  (stā′pəl),USA pronunciation n., adj., v., -pled, -pling. 
n. 
  1. Businessa principal raw material or commodity grown or manufactured in a locality.
  2. Businessa principal commodity in a mercantile field;
    goods in steady demand or of known or recognized quality.
  3. a basic or necessary item of food:She bought flour, sugar, salt, and other staples.
  4. a basic or principal item, thing, feature, element, or part:Cowboy dramas are a staple on television.
  5. Textilesthe fiber of wool, cotton, flax, rayon, etc., considered with reference to length and fineness.
  6. Textilesa standard length of textile fibers, representing the average of such fibers taken collectively, as short-staple or long-staple cotton.
  7. World History[Hist.]a town or place appointed by royal authority as the seat of a body of merchants having the exclusive right of purchase of certain classes of goods for export.

adj. 
  1. chief or prominent among the products exported or produced by a country or district;
    chiefly or largely dealt in or consumed.
  2. basic, chief, or principal:staple industries.
  3. principally used:staple subjects of conversation.

v.t. 
  1. Textilesto sort or classify according to the staple or fiber, as wool.
  • Middle Dutch stapel
  • late Middle English: place where merchants have trading rights 1375–1425

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
staple / ˈsteɪpəl/
  1. a short length of thin wire bent into a square U-shape, used to fasten papers, cloth, etc
  2. a short length of stiff wire formed into a U-shape with pointed ends, used for holding a hasp to a post, securing electric cables, etc
  1. (transitive) to secure (papers, wire, etc) with a staple or staples
Etymology: Old English stapol prop, of Germanic origin; related to Middle Dutch stapel step, Old High German staffal
staple / ˈsteɪpəl/
  1. of prime importance; principal: staple foods
  2. (of a commodity) forming a predominant element in the product, consumption, or trade of a nation, region, etc
  1. a staple commodity
  2. a main constituent; integral part
  3. a principal raw material produced or grown in a region
  4. the fibre of wool, cotton, etc, graded as to length and fineness
  1. (transitive) to arrange or sort (wool, cotton, etc) according to length and fineness
Etymology: 15th Century: from Middle Dutch stapel warehouse; see staple1
'long staple' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
peeler - sea-island cotton - staple - worsted

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