What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Scrap vs Staple - What's the difference?

scrap | staple |

In transitive terms the difference between scrap and staple

is that scrap is to make into scrap while staple is to secure with a staple.

As an adjective staple is

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

scrap

English

Etymology 1

(etyl) scrappe, from (etyl) skrap, from

Noun

(en noun)
  • A (small) piece; a fragment; a detached, incomplete portion.
  • * De Quincey
    • I have no materials — not a scrap .
    I found a scrap of cloth to patch the hole.
  • (usually, in the plural) Leftover food.
    • Give the scraps to the dogs and watch them fight.
  • Discarded material (especially metal), junk.
    • That car isn't good for anything but scrap .
  • (ethnic slur, offensive) A Hispanic criminal, especially a Mexican or one affiliated to the Norte gang.
  • The crisp substance that remains after drying out animal fat.
    • pork scraps
    Derived terms
    * scrap paper * scrapbook * scrapheap * scrappy * scrapyard

    Verb

    (scrapp)
  • To discard.
  • (of a project or plan) To stop working on indefinitely.
  • To scrapbook; to create scrapbooks.
  • To dispose of at a scrapyard.
  • To make into scrap.
    • Derived terms
    * scrapper

    Etymology 2

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A fight, tussle, skirmish.
    • We got in a little scrap over who should pay the bill.

    Verb

    (scrapp)
  • to fight

    • Anagrams

    * English terms with multiple etymologies

    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

    * ----