stake
1[ steyk ]
/ steɪk /
Save This Word!
noun
verb (used with object), staked, stak·ing.
Verb Phrases
stake out,
- to keep (a suspect) under police surveillance.
- to appoint (a police officer) to maintain constant watch over a suspect or place.
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON “ITS” VS. “IT’S”!
Apostrophes can be tricky; prove you know the difference between it’s and its in this crafty quiz!
Question 1 of 12
On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.
Idioms for stake
pull up stakes, Informal. to leave one's job, place of residence, etc.; move: They pulled up stakes and went to California.
Origin of stake
1First recorded beforebefore 900; (noun) Middle English; Old English staca “pin”; cognate with Dutch staak, German Stake, Old Norse -staki (in lȳsistaki “candlestick”); akin to stick1; (verb) Middle English staken “to mark (land) with stakes,” derivative of the noun
Words nearby stake
stair rod, stairs, stairstep, stairway, stairwell, stake, stake a claim, stake boat, stake body, Staked Plain, stakeholder
Definition for stake (2 of 2)
stake2
[ steyk ]
/ steɪk /
noun
verb (used with object), staked, stak·ing.
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.
to furnish (someone) with necessaries or resources, especially money: They staked me to a good meal and a train ticket.
SYNONYMS FOR stake
Origin of stake
2First recorded in 1520–30; origin uncertain
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for stake
British Dictionary definitions for stake (1 of 2)
stake1
/ (steɪk) /
noun
verb (tr)
Word Origin for stake
Old English staca pin; related to Old Frisian staka, Old High German stehho, Old Norse stjaki; see stick 1
British Dictionary definitions for stake (2 of 2)
stake2
/ (steɪk) /
noun
verb (tr)
to hazard (money, etc) on a result
to invest in or support by supplying with money, etcto stake a business enterprise
Word Origin for stake
C16: of uncertain origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Idioms and Phrases with stake
stake
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.