Question

The company managed to stave off bankruptcy for another few months. The meaning of the idiom "stave off" is:

• A. To delay something bad
• B. Cancel
• C. Implement instantly
• D. Follow

Hint:

"Stave off" means to hold a problem back for a while, not to end it.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

"Stave off" is a phrasal verb that means to keep something unwanted away for a while, or to delay it from happening. In the sentence, the company pushed bankruptcy further into the future without solving the problem completely.

• Option A, "To delay something bad": This matches "stave off" exactly. The company held bankruptcy back for a few more months, not forever, which is the core sense of the phrase.
• Option B, "Cancel": Cancelling means the problem is gone for good. "Stave off" only postpones it, so this option overstates the meaning.
• Option C, "Implement instantly": This is close to the opposite sense, since the company is trying to avoid an outcome, not carry one out quickly.
• Option D, "Follow": "Follow" has no connection to warding off a danger, so it does not fit the idiom at all.

The correct choice is option A, "To delay something bad".