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stake out

 - 4 dictionary results

stake

1  [steyk] ,noun, verb, staked, stak⋅ing.
Use stake out 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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To stake out
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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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 out

Keep an area or person under police surveillance; also, assign someone to conduct such a surveillance. For example, They staked out the house, or He was staked out in the alley, watching for drug dealers. [c. 1940]

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