at stake


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Related to at stake: put at stake

stake

 (stāk)
n.
1. A piece of wood or metal pointed at one end for driving into the ground as a marker, fence pole, or tent peg.
2.
a. A vertical post to which an offender is bound for execution by burning.
b. Execution by burning. Used with the: condemned to the stake.
3. A vertical post secured in a socket at the edge of a platform, as on a truck bed, to help retain the load.
4. Mormon Church A territorial division consisting of a group of wards under the jurisdiction of a president.
5. Sports & Games
a. often stakes Money or property risked in a wager or gambling game.
b. The prize awarded the winner of a contest or race.
c. A race offering a prize to the winner, especially a horserace in which the prize consists of money contributed equally by the horse owners.
6.
a. A share or an interest in an enterprise, especially a financial share.
b. Personal interest or involvement: a stake in her children's future.
7. Something, such as a crucial change or grave consequence, that may result from a situation: The stakes are high in the mayoral election.
8. A grubstake.
tr.v. staked, stak·ing, stakes
1.
a. To mark the location or limits of with stakes. Often used with out: staked out a garden patch.
b. To claim, establish, or register as one's own. Often used with out: staked out a mining claim at the office; staked out a place for herself in the library.
2.
a. To fasten, secure, or support with a stake or stakes: staked down the tent; staked the shrubs.
b. To tether or tie to a stake.
c. To impale with a stake.
3. To gamble or risk; hazard: staked his week's pay on the horse race; staked the campaign on a promise of a tax cut.
4. To provide with money; finance: staked him to the money for the tickets.
5. Sports To provide a lead for: Her homer staked her team to a two-run lead.
Phrasal Verb:
stake out
1. To keep (a building, for example) under surveillance.
2. To assign (a police officer, for example) to an area to conduct surveillance: The police were staked out across the street from the apartment.
Idiom:
at stake
At risk; in question.

[Middle English, from Old English staca.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adv.1.at stake - in question or at issue; "there is more at stake than your modesty"
2.at stake - to be won or lost; at risk; "perhaps a million dollars are at stake"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
في مُجازَفَهمُعَرَّض للخَطَر
v sázce
í húfi, í hættuí veîi
v stávke
büyük tehlikederiskte

stake2

(steik) noun
a sum of money risked in betting. He and his friends enjoy playing cards for high stakes.
verb
to bet or risk (money or something of value). I'm going to stake $5 on that horse.
at stake
1. to be won or lost. A great deal of money is at stake.
2. in great danger. The peace of the country / Our children's future is at stake.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
Quincey Morris was phlegmatic in the way of a man who accepts all things, and accepts them in the spirit of cool bravery, with hazard of all he has at stake. Not being able to smoke, he cut himself a good-sized plug of tobacco and began to chew.
"And the less of their money is at stake, the less the alignment.