stakeout
[ steyk-out ]
/ ˈsteɪkˌaʊt /
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noun
the surveillance of a location by the police, as in anticipation of a crime or the arrival of a wanted person.
the place from which such surveillance is carried out.
something that is bounded or separated by or as if by stakes, especially property, territory, or the like that one identifies or claims as one's own.
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Origin of stakeout
First recorded in 1940–45; noun use of verb phrase stake out
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for stakeout
British Dictionary definitions for stakeout
stakeout
/ (ˈsteɪkaʊt) slang, mainly US and Canadian /
noun
a police surveillance of an area, house, or criminal suspect
an area or house kept under such surveillance
verb stake out
(tr, adverb) to keep under surveillance
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 stakeout
stake out
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]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.