stakeholder
Americannoun
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a person or group owning a significant percentage of a company's shares
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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
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of stakeholder
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.
Vocabulary lists containing stakeholder
Academic Vocabulary and Literary Terms, Unit 5
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Century 21 Accounting, 9e, Chapters 4-7
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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:
It has since been revised by a stakeholder group of farmers, agri-food representatives, conservationists and environmental groups.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
"There will be stakeholder consultations before any final decision is taken."
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
Prominent money manager Bill Smead, whose firm has been an eBay stakeholder for nearly 20 years, says he doesn’t see a reason for eBay to sell to GameStop.
From Barron's ● May 8, 2026
Attorneys representing Purdue, the Sackler family and other stakeholder groups, including victims, began months of confidential mediations.
From Salon ● Apr. 24, 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
Oftentimes in sports, minority stakeholders in franchises acquire a controlling share of the team in subsequent years.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
The Italian bank said Friday that it is analyzing, together with advisors, its strategic options with the goal of maximizing long-term value for all stakeholders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
“The company determined that this resolution best serves the interests of its stakeholders and allows it to direct resources toward energy projects that can be advanced with certainty.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
It's an idea with distinctly limited support among F1's stakeholders.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Six months ago we would have backed Watlington, Peck, Peebles and Hamilton against the wide world, bet dollars against your dimes and allowed you to select your own stakeholders, timekeepers and judges.
From Fore! by Charles Emmett Van Loan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
