transitive verb
1. : to beat off (an animal or person) with or as if with a staff or rod : drive or fight off
2. : to ward or fend off (someone) : hold back : keep away
let's stave the greaser off till dark — Zane Grey
often had to stave off creditors — W.A.Swanberg
3. : to forestall or prevent (something adverse) especially at the last moment or in extremity : deflect , avert
the last form of credit that staved off foreclosure — New Republic