stake1
/steɪk
/noun
1A strong wooden or metal post with a point at one end, driven into the ground to support a plant, form part of a fence, mark a boundary, etc.A row of more than 15 bricks, pieces of concrete, metal poles, wooden stakes and a traffic cone were balanced on the track in a blatant act of sabotage....
- The simplest of all plant supports are stakes or poles.
- Shivering slightly, I tied the horse's well-used rein to a rotting stake in the wooden fence and stepped inside.
Synonyms
post, pole, stick, spike, upright, support, prop, strut, stave, pale, paling, picket, pile, piling, stanchion, shaft, cane, beanpole, rod, mast
historical palisade
1.1 (the stake) historical A wooden post to which a person was tied before being burned alive as a punishment: Bishop Ridley was burned at the stake...
- Opinions and beliefs which are popular need no protection - it's the hard and unpopular ones that people get stoned and burned at the stake for.
- Thomas Weir was sentenced to death and burned at the stake, while his sister was hanged.
- A few decades earlier Bruno had been found guilty of heresy, and then burned at the stake, for suggesting that Earth may not be the only place in the universe that harbors life.
1.2A long vertical rod used in basket-making.As well as the common method of weaving baskets on a stake and strand principle, Jane also makes coiled, plaited, interlaced and frame baskets....
- Soak the ends of your stakes, cut the inside stakes flush with the top of the basket and cut and tuck the outside stakes into the first available weaver inside the basket.
- Weave all the way around the basket, back to the starting point, going over one stake and behind the next.
2A metalworker’s small anvil, typically with a projection for fitting into a socket on a bench.It is also to be observed that of the two hammer-like instruments found together in the Harty hoard one is much larger than the other, and may have formed the head of a stake or anvil, while the other served as a hammer....
- Numerous hammers, stakes and shaping tools were put to use in shaping the artwork of leaves.
3A territorial division of the Mormon Church under the jurisdiction of a president.Congregations are organized into stakes and districts, which belong to a temple district....
- The teenagers in our stake spent five days at the temple this year, with classes and activities during the day, a dance or testimony meeting at night, and a baptismal session in the temple each morning.
verb [with object]
1Support (a plant) with a stake or stakes: the gladioli were staked in gaudy ranks vigorous plants need staking...
- Trees are frequently staked for support after planting and there is much debate as to whether these should be long stakes, short stakes or even slanting stakes.
- It's always a good idea to stake trees when you plant them.
- However, if the tree was staked in the nursery or if you are planting in a windy location, proper staking will support the tree during its first years in the ground.
Synonyms
prop up, tie up, tether, support, hold up, bolster up, brace, buttress, reinforce, truss, stay
2 (stake something out) Mark an area with stakes so as to claim ownership of it: the boundary between the two manors was properly staked out...
- ‘These territories might be staked out’ I added.
- Once a territory is staked out and the owner of the property becomes lax in his knowledge that his land is safe is when he is the most vulnerable.
- Babu snagged the spot last year by dispatching a friend to stake it out two months before the season even started.
Synonyms
mark off, mark out, demarcate, mark the boundaries/limits of, outline, measure out, define, delimit, fence off, section off, close off, shut off, cordon off, bound, circumscribe
2.1Be assertive in defining and defending a position or policy: Elena was staking out a role for herself as a formidable political force...
- She creates a new ‘moderate’ position by staking a position out on the margin of what had previously been ‘acceptable’.
- Tom had staked this area out when he was a freshman to avoid sitting in a hallway and getting stepped on or a crowded student lounge.
- Certainly the city still has a long way to go before we can start to claim mission success, but at least the road has been staked out toward completion.
Phrases
go to the stake for
pull up stakes
stake a claim
Phrasal verbs
stake someone/thing out
Origin
Old English staca, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch staak, also to stick2.
In the sense ‘a thick pointed stick driven into the ground’, stake is related to stick. The gambling sense might relate to the idea of an object being placed as a wager on a post or stake, though there is no definite evidence of the existence of this custom. If you stake a claim you declare or assert your right to something. This expression originated in America at the time of the California gold rush of 1849. Prospectors would register their claim to a particular plot of land by marking out the boundary with wooden stakes that they drove into the ground, thus ‘staking a claim’. Also American in origin is the phrase pull up stakes, meaning ‘to move or go to live elsewhere’. The stakes being referred to here are pegs or posts for securing a tent or making a fence around a temporary settlement.
Rhymes
stake2
/steɪk/noun
1A sum of money or something else of value gambled on the outcome of a risky game or venture: playing dice for high stakes figurative the opposition raised the stakes in the battle for power the stakes are high with a six-figure bonanza in television rights in the balance...
- Sharply rising income inequality has raised the stakes of the economic game.
- I don't think I've ever met a successful man who didn't take risks or didn't gamble for high stakes.
- The lure of casinos has raised the stakes for federal recognition.
Synonyms
bet, wager, ante, pledge, hazard
1.1A share or interest in a business, situation, or system: GM acquired a 50 per cent stake in Saab...
- The joint ventures in a number of Scottish cities will operate under the Quality Street brand, but local partners will have a stake in the business.
- Yang said the group wants foreign investors to take stakes in its business, but will insist that it be the controlling shareholder in any joint ventures.
- A 25.78 per cent stake - 261 352 shares - will be up for sale until February 17.
Synonyms
share, interest, financial interest, investment, involvement, concern
1.2 (stakes) Prize money, especially in horse racing.Former champion jockey Willie Carson said a Manchester racecourse would up the stakes in the sport - and propel the city into the world's richest league....
- Handicap stakes and prize money of that sort for a long-distance handicap at Musselburgh would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.
- Mecca Bingo in Regent Circus is angry that it will not be able to increase stakes and prize money when new legislation comes into force.
Synonyms
prize money, purse, pot, winnings
1.3 [in names] (Stakes) A horse race in which all the owners of the racehorses running contribute to the prize money: the horse is to run in the Craven Stakes...
- All the action from day two of Flat racing's big meeting, where Grandera wins the Prince of Wales' Stakes, the big race of the day.
- Wando had not won a stakes race since clinching the Triple Crown in the Breeders' Stakes at Woodbine last August.
- On May 7, the Saudi Arabia Royal Cup, the Oasis Stakes Race, was held at Tokyo Racetrack.
1.4 (with modifier stakes) A situation involving competition in a specified area: we will keep you one step ahead in the fashion stakes...
- But he has competition in the style stakes from Dougray Scott, who has recently been linked with the role of James Bond because of his suave good looks.
- They just want to protect their market share by teaming up with fellow soulmates to keep the competition in the superstition stakes at bay.
- Smart said yesterday that it was confident of taking on Eircom in the competition stakes.
Synonyms
competition, contest, battle, challenge, rivalry, race, running, struggle, scramble
verb [with object]
1Gamble (money or something else of value) on the outcome of a game or race: one gambler staked everything he’d got and lost figurative it was risky to stake his reputation on one big success...
- It just shows you can win big even when you haven't staked much money.
- The total money staked by the players must not be more than what is currently in the bank, but within this limit you can bet any amount you wish.
- Here the bank would take half the money that had been staked on the paired cards.
Synonyms
bet, wager, place a bet of, lay, put on, gamble, pledge, chance, venture, risk, hazard
2North American informal Give financial or other support to: he staked him to an education at the École des Beaux-Arts...
- His father had staked him some money to buy a limited partnership in Mostly Bull when the firm was still a calfling during the exuberant days when the Insecurity business was actually making money for some people.
Phrases
at stake
Origin
Late Middle English: perhaps a specialized usage of stake1, from the notion of an object being placed as a wager on a post or stake.