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stake

 - 9 dictionary results
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stake

1  [steyk] ,noun, verb, staked, stak⋅ing.
Use stake in a Sentence
–noun
1. a stick or post pointed at one end for driving into the ground as a boundary mark, part of a fence, support for a plant, etc.
2. a post to which a person is bound for execution, usually by burning.
3. the stake, the punishment of death by burning: Joan of Arc was sentenced to the stake.
4. one of a number of vertical posts fitting into sockets or staples on the edge of the platform of a truck or other vehicle, as to retain the load.
5. Mormon Church. a division of ecclesiastical territory, consisting of a number of wards presided over by a president and two counselors.
6. sett (def. 2).
–verb (used with object)
7. to mark with or as if with stakes (often fol. by off or out): We staked out the boundaries of the garden.
8. to possess, claim, or reserve a share of (land, profit, glory, etc.) as if by marking or bounding with stakes (usually fol. by out or off): I'm staking out ten percent of the profit for myself.
9. to separate or close off by a barrier of stakes.
10. to support with a stake or stakes, as a plant: to stake tomato vines.
11. to tether or secure to a stake, as an animal: They staked the goat in the back yard.
12. to fasten with a stake or stakes.
—Verb phrase
13. stake out,
a. to keep (a suspect) under police surveillance.
b. to appoint (a police officer) to maintain constant watch over a suspect or place.
—Idiom
14. pull up stakes, Informal. to leave one's job, place of residence, etc.; move: They pulled up stakes and went to California.
Origin:
bef. 900; (n.) ME; OE staca pin; c. D staak, G Stake, ON -staki (in lȳsistaki candlestick); akin to stick 1 ; (v.) ME staken to mark (land) with stakes, deriv. of the n.

Synonyms:
1. pale, picket, pike.
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stake

2  [steyk] ,noun, verb, staked, stak⋅ing.
–noun
1. something that is wagered in a game, race, or contest.
2. a monetary or commercial interest, investment, share, or involvement in something, as in hope of gain: I have a big stake in the success of the firm.
3. a personal or emotional concern, interest, involvement, or share: Parents have a big stake in their children's happiness.
4. the funds with which a gambler operates.
5. Often, stakes. a prize, reward, increase in status, etc., in or as if in a contest.
6. stakes. Poker. the cash values assigned to the various colored chips, various bets, and raises: Our stakes are 5, 10, and 25 cents: you can bet out 10 cents on a pair and reraise twice at 25 cents.
7. a grubstake.
–verb (used with object)
8. to risk (something), as upon the result of a game or the occurrence or outcome of any uncertain event, venture, etc.: He staked his reputation on the success of the invention.
9. to furnish (someone) with necessaries or resources, esp. money: They staked me to a good meal and a train ticket.
—Idiom
10. at stake, in danger of being lost, as something that has been wagered; critically involved.
Origin:
1520–30; orig. uncert.

Synonyms:
1. wager, bet. 5. winnings, purse. 8. bet, gamble, hazard; jeopardize.

sett

  [set]
–noun
1. Also called pitcher. a small, rectangular paving stone.
2. Also called stake. a hand-held tool that is struck by a hammer to shape or deform a metal object.
3. Also, set. the distinctively colored pattern of crisscrossed lines and stripes against a background in which a Scottish tartan is woven.
Origin:
1870–75; var. of set
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To stake
stake   (stāk)   
n.  

  1. A piece of wood or metal pointed at one end for driving into the ground as a marker, fence pole, or tent peg.

    1. A vertical post to which an offender is bound for execution by burning.

    2. Execution by burning. Used with the: condemned to the stake.

    3. Money or property risked in a wager or gambling game. Often used in the plural. See Synonyms at bet.

    4. The prize awarded the winner of a contest or race.

    5. A race offering a prize to the winner, especially a horserace in which the prize consists of money contributed equally by the horse owners.

    6. A share or an interest in an enterprise, especially a financial share.

    7. Personal interest or involvement: a stake in her children's future.

  3. A vertical post secured in a socket at the edge of a platform, as on a truck bed, to help retain the load.

  4. Mormon Church A territorial division consisting of a group of wards under the jurisdiction of a president.

  5. Sports & Games

    1. Money or property risked in a wager or gambling game. Often used in the plural. See Synonyms at bet.

    2. The prize awarded the winner of a contest or race.

    3. A race offering a prize to the winner, especially a horserace in which the prize consists of money contributed equally by the horse owners.

    4. A share or an interest in an enterprise, especially a financial share.

    5. Personal interest or involvement: a stake in her children's future.

    1. A share or an interest in an enterprise, especially a financial share.

    2. Personal interest or involvement: a stake in her children's future.

  7. A grubstake.

tr.v.   staked, stak·ing, stakes

    1. To mark the location or limits of with or as if with stakes: stake out a claim.

    2. To claim as one's own: staked out a place for herself in industry.

  2. To fasten, secure, or support with a stake or stakes.

  3. To tether or tie to a stake.

  4. To gamble or risk; hazard.

  5. To provide working capital for; finance.

Phrasal Verb(s):
stake out

  1. To assign (a police officer, for example) to an area to conduct surveillance.

  2. To keep under surveillance.


Idiom(s):
at stakeAt risk; in question.

[Middle English, from Old English staca.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
stake (so/sth)

  1. tv.
    to position a person so that someone or something can be observed or followed. : Marlowe staked out the apartment building and watched patiently for an hour.
  2. tv.
    to position a person to observe someone or something. : We staked out two men to keep watch.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

stake  (n)
"pointed stick or post," O.E. staca, from P.Gmc. *stakon (cf. O.N. stiaki, Du. staak, Ger. stake), from PIE base *steg- "pole, stick." The Gmc. word has been borrowed in Sp. (estaca), O.Fr. (estaque), and It. stacca) and was borrowed back as attach. Meaning "post upon which persons were bound for death by burning" is recorded from c.1205. Stake-body as a type of truck is attested from 1907.

stake  (v.)
c.1330, "to mark (land) with stakes," from stake (n.). Hence, to stake a claim (1857). Meaning "to risk, wager" is attested from 1530, probably from notion of "post on which a gambling wager was placed," though Weekley suggests "there is a tinge of the burning or baiting metaphor" in this usage. Noun meaning "that which is placed at hazard" is recorded from 1540. Plural stakes, as in horse racing, first recorded 1696 (cf. sweepstakes). To have a stake in is recorded from 1784. Meaning "to maintain surveilance" (usually stake out) is first recorded 1942, Amer.Eng. colloquial, probably form earlier sense of "mark off territory."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: stake
Function: noun
1 : the subject matter (as property or an obligation) of an interpleader
2 : an interest or share in an esp. commercial undertaking
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Idioms & Phrases

stake

In addition to the idioms beginning with stake, also see at stake; burn at the stake; have a stake in; pull up stakes.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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