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Clamp vs Staple - What's the difference?

clamp | staple |

In transitive terms the difference between clamp and staple

is that clamp is to modify a numeric value so it lies within a specific range while staple is to secure with a staple.

As nouns the difference between clamp and staple

is that clamp is a brace, band, or clasp for strengthening or holding things together while staple is a town containing merchants who have exclusive right, under royal authority, to purchase or produce certain goods for export; also, the body of such merchants seen as a group.

As verbs the difference between clamp and staple

is that clamp is to fasten in place or together with (or as if with) a clamp while staple is to sort according to its staple.

As an adjective staple is

relating to, or being market of staple for, commodities.

clamp

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A brace, band, or clasp for strengthening or holding things together.
  • A mass of bricks heaped up to be burned; or of ore for roasting, or of coal coking.
  • A piece of wood (batten) across the grain of a board end to keep it flat, as in a breadboard.
  • A heavy footstep; a tramp.

    • Derived terms

    * clover clamp * nipple clamp

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (intransitive) To fasten in place or together with (or as if with) a clamp .
  • * 1897 , (Bram Stoker), (Dracula) Chapter 21
    • As we burst into the room, the Count turned his face, and the hellish look that I had heard described seemed to leap into it. His eyes flamed red with devilish passion. The great nostrils of the white aquiline nose opened wide and quivered at the edge, and the white sharp teeth, behind the full lips of the blood dripping mouth, clamped together like those of a wild beast.
  • To tread heavily or clumsily; to clump or clomp.
  • * Thackeray
    • The policeman with clamping feet.
  • To hold or grip tightly.
  • To modify a numeric value so it lies within a specific range.
  • (UK, obsolete, transitive) To cover (vegetables, etc.) with earth.

    • Derived terms

    * clamp down

    See also

    * clasp * vise, vice

    staple

    English

    Etymology 1

    (The Staple) From (etyl) estaple, (etyl) . Compare staff.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A town containing merchants who have exclusive right, under royal authority, to purchase or produce certain goods for export; also, the body of such merchants seen as a group.
  • * Arbuthnot
    • The customs of Alexandria were very great, it having been the staple of the Indian trade.
  • * Sir Walter Scott
    • For the increase of trade and the encouragement of the worthy burgesses of Woodstock, her majesty was minded to erect the town into a staple for wool.
  • * 2011 , Thomas Penn, Winter King , Penguin 2012, p. 73:
    • Calais was one of the ‘principal treasures’ of the crown, of both strategic and economic importance. It was home to the staple , the crown-controlled marketplace for England's lucrative textile trade, whose substantial customs and tax revenues flooded into Henry's coffers.
  • (by extension) Place of supply; source.
  • * Macaulay
    • Whitehall naturally became the chief staple of news. Whenever there was a rumour that any thing important had happened or was about to happen, people hastened thither to obtain intelligence from the fountain head.
  • The principal commodity produced in a town or region.
  • * Trench
    • We should now say, Cotton is the great staple , that is, the established merchandize, of Manchester.
  • * 1929 , , , Chapter VIII, Section ii:
    • The pastoral industry, which had weathered the severe depression of the early forties by recourse to boiling down the sheep for their tallow, and was now firmly re-established as the staple industry of the colony, was threatened once more with eclipse.
  • A basic or essential supply.
    • Rice is a staple in the diet of many cultures.
  • A recurring topic or character.
  • * 2010 , The Economist , Jul-Aug 2010, p. 27:
    • In most countries, rubbish makes headlines only when it is not collected, and stinking sacks lie heaped on the streets. In Britain bins are a front-page staple .
  • Short fiber, as of cotton, sheep’s wool, or the like, which can be spun into yarn or thread.
    • Tow is flax with short staple .
  • Unmanufactured material; raw material.

    • Verb

    (stapl)
  • To sort according to its staple.
    • to staple cotton

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Relating to, or being market of staple for, commodities.
    • a staple town
  • Established in commerce; occupying the markets; settled.
    • a staple trade
    (Dryden)
  • Fit to be sold; marketable.
    • (Swift)
  • Regularly produced or manufactured in large quantities; belonging to wholesale traffic; principal; chief.
  • * Hallam
    • wool, the great staple commodity of England

    Etymology 2

    Probably from (etyl) , from (etyl).

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A wire fastener used to secure stacks of paper by penetrating all the sheets and curling around.
  • A wire fastener used to secure something else by penetrating and curling.
    • Can you believe they use staples to hold cars together these days?
  • A U-shaped metal fastener, used to attach fence wire or other material to posts or structures.
    • The rancher used staples to attach the barbed wire to the fence-posts.
  • One of a set of U-shaped metal rods hammered into a structure, such as a piling or wharf, which serve as a ladder.
    • Fortunately, there were staples in the quay wall, and she was able to climb out of the water.
  • (mining) A shaft, smaller and shorter than the principal one, joining different levels.
  • A small pit.
  • A district granted to an abbey.
    • (Camden)

    Verb

    (stapl)
  • To secure with a staple.
    • Derived terms
    * stapler

    Anagrams

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