at stake

Idioms

At risk to be won or lost, as in We have a great deal at stake in this transaction. This phrase uses stake in the sense of something that is wagered. Shakespeare used it in Troilus and Cressida (3:3): “I see my reputation is at stake.” [Late 1500s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

at stake

“But everyone loses if this relationship spirals. Hundreds of thousands of jobs are potentially at stake on both sides of the border if this relationship fractures further.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

"The safety of young people in Aotearoa New Zealand is at stake and the risks they face in increasingly complex online environments are significant," he added, using the Maori-language name for the country.

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

"I took the decision to announce that people wanted to do exploratory drilling there before COP because the interests of our country and our company were at stake."

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

What “One Night Only” makes so apparent is that our personal pleasure is at stake in this environment.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

She couldn’t trust anybody—not when the future of library science was at stake.

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023