stake out

Idioms  

1. 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]

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stake out

Eisenkot has yet to stake out clear positions on several national security issues, including the future of Gaza.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

Certain members agreed to stake out high-traffic locations during their lunch breaks, or if they were working remotely.

From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2025

“Peacemaker” isn’t covering any ground that many other movies and TV shows didn’t stake out first.

From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2025

Kamala Harris is leaning into a little-known aspect of her biography - the fact that she is a gun owner - to stake out ground on the issue of firearms control.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2024

So far the Thief Lord hadn't asked him and Bo to stake out one of his targets, although Bo kept begging him to.

From "The Thief Lord" by Cornelia Funke

Related Words

• assess
• canvass
• check
• check out
• estimate
• evaluate
• examine
• inspect
• look over
• observe
• overlook
• oversee
• review
• scan
• supervise