Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To stop or check the flow of (blood or tears, for example).
  • transitive verb To stop the flow of blood from (a wound).
  • transitive verb To stop, check, or allay.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun That which stanches; that which quenches or allays.
  • Dry; free from water; water-tight; sound: said of a vessel.
  • Strong; firm.
  • Sound and trustworthy; true: applied to hounds with reference to their keeping the scent.
  • Sound or firm in principle; loyal; hearty; trustworthy.
  • Synonyms Stout, steadfast, resolute, stable, unwavering.
  • noun A flood-gate in a river for accumulating a head of water to float boats over shallows; a weir. See stank.
  • To cause to cease flowing; check the flow of.
  • To stop a flow from; dry, as a wound, by the application of a styptic.
  • To quench; allay; assuage.
  • To free; relieve: with of.
  • To stop flowing; be stanched.
  • To stop; cease.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To cease, as the flowing of blood.
  • adjective Strong and tight; sound; firm.
  • adjective Firm in principle; constant and zealous; loyal; hearty; steady; steadfast.
  • adjective obsolete Close; secret; private.
  • transitive verb To prop; to make stanch, or strong.
  • noun obsolete That which stanches or checks.
  • noun A flood gate by which water is accumulated, for floating a boat over a shallow part of a stream by its release.
  • transitive verb To stop the flowing of, as blood; to check; also, to stop the flowing of blood from.
  • transitive verb obsolete To extinguish; to quench, as fire or thirst.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To stop the flow of.
  • verb transitive To prop; to make stanch, or strong.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb stop the flow of a liquid

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English stanchen, from Old French estanchier, from Vulgar Latin *stanticāre, to stop, probably from Latin stāns, stant-, present participle of stāre, to stand; see stā- in Indo-European roots.]

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Examples

  • All of them say the same thing, that stanch is the more common verbal spelling and that staunch is the more common adjectival spelling, but that the two are interchangeable.

    2009 April « Motivated Grammar 2009

  • All of them say the same thing, that stanch is the more common verbal spelling and that staunch is the more common adjectival spelling, but that the two are interchangeable.

    Stanching staunch prescriptivism « Motivated Grammar 2009

  • And at his call the stanch hearts unite into one great, strong heart, deep and sensitive as a silver bell not yet cast.

    Mother 2003

  • I believe she could have a great charity, that no evil-doing would dismay her: "stanch" sums her up.

    An Englishwoman's Love-Letters Anonymous

  • However, given their poor track record in maintaining, let alone growing, their market share, it seems unlikely that mainline Protestant congregations such as the UCC will stanch the flow of young people out of religion.

    American Grace Robert D. Putnam 2010

  • SINGAPORE—A rise in Japan's shares led most Asian stock markets higher Friday, as the Group of Seven industrialized nations agreed to a coordinated intervention to stanch the yen's recent surge, providing some relief as the nation grapples with last week's crippling earthquake and a continuing nuclear crisis.

    Asia Markets Higher; Tokyo Up 2.5% Shri Navaratnam 2011

  • As non-executive chairman, Mr. Smale served as a corporate architect while Mr. Smith worked to stanch losses of $11 million a day.

    P&G Chief Snapped Up Brands, Led GM Overhaul Stephen Miller 2011

  • The news comes as the city and state governments are getting traction in their efforts to generate more high-skilled technology and help stanch the anticipated loss to the economy of thousands of finance jobs.

    Silicon Alley Gets a Boost Laura Kusisto 2011

  • Fail to stanch the flow of illegal aliens across the Mexican-United States border.

    Tom McIntyre Explains His Picks for our 2009 Hunting and Fishing Heroes and Villians Face-Off 2009

  • Fail to stanch the flow of illegal aliens across the Mexican-United States border.

    Tom McIntyre Explains His Picks for our 2009 Hunting and Fishing Heroes and Villians Face-Off 2009

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