stakeholder

American  

[stayk-hohl-der] / ˈsteɪkˌhoʊl dər /

noun

• stakeholders
  plural

1. the holder of the stakes of a wager.

2. a person or group that has an investment, share, or interest in something, as a business or industry.

3. Law. a person holding money or property to which two or more persons make rival claims.

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stakeholder British  

/ ˈsteɪkˌhəʊldə /

noun

1. a person or group owning a significant percentage of a company's shares

2. a person or group not owning shares in an enterprise but affected by or having an interest in its operations, such as the employees, customers, local community, etc

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adjective

1. of or relating to policies intended to allow people to participate in and benefit from decisions made by enterprises in which they have a stake

   a stakeholder economy

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• stakeholders
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of stakeholder

First recorded in 1700–10; stake ² + holder

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Explanation

A stakeholder is a person interested in a company. If you become CEO of a big company, you'll have to keep the interests of every stakeholder in mind, from the employees to the customers to the investors, whenever you make decisions. Supposedly people used to gamble by putting their money on a wooden stake, and a person called a stakeholder who wasn't involved in the betting would supervise to make sure everything was fair. No one uses wooden stakes anymore, but we still call the person who holds the money and monitors the betting the stakeholder, and people often use stake to mean "risk," or "investment." That's why someone who is invested in a business is also called a stakeholder.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stakeholder stakeholders

Caltrans said it held more than 100 public and stakeholder meetings to prepare surrounding communities for construction, including developing the traffic detour route.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

At Wednesday’s hearing, Dwayne Jones, LA28’s senior vice president for the Cultural Olympiad and stakeholder events, did not disclose a precise cultural budget or how much funding had been secured.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

It has since been revised by a stakeholder group of farmers, agri-food representatives, conservationists and environmental groups.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Angelo’s Yorkville Advisors, a small New Jersey investment firm, wasn’t just a large stakeholder in Trump Media & Technology DJT 0.83%increase; up pointing triangle , home of Truth Social.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Social capital usually means emotional support and encouragement from a reliable stakeholder in one’s life, an asset commonly associated with marriage that is itself a form of wealth.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

Making changes to the way the Fed lives up to this obligation can be tricky, due to the many stakeholders involved.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

The council urged the international community to "adjust further its engagement with any stakeholders in Afghanistan" with regard to human rights and fundamental freedoms for all Afghans.

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

“They basically dug their own grave,” Abbott said to ABC, blaming tech companies for moving too fast without consulting local stakeholders.

From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026

It said a public consultation received more than 2,000 responses, including from residents, businesses and tourism stakeholders, with concerns voiced about increased costs for visitors, and the island's "competitiveness" as a holiday destination.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

To minimize this imbalance, potential participants in corrupt dealings must be made to feel that they are real and effective stakeholders in their societies.

From Crime and Corruption by Samuel Vaknin

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Related Words

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