STAKE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does stake mean? 

• STAKE (noun)
  The noun STAKE has 5 senses:

1. (law) a right or legal share of something; a financial involvement with something

2. a pole or stake set up to mark something (as the start or end of a race track)

3. instrument of execution consisting of a vertical post that a victim is tied to for burning

4. the money risked on a gamble

5. a strong wooden or metal post with a point at one end so it can be driven into the ground

  Familiarity information: STAKE used as a noun is common.

• STAKE (verb)
  The verb STAKE has 5 senses:

1. put at risk

2. place a bet on

3. mark with a stake

4. tie or fasten to a stake

5. kill by piercing with a spear or sharp pole

  Familiarity information: STAKE used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• STAKE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(law) a right or legal share of something; a financial involvement with something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Synonyms:

interest; stake

Context example:

a stake in the company's future

Hypernyms ("stake" is a kind of...):

part; percentage; portion; share (assets belonging to or due to or contributed by an individual person or group)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stake"):

fee (an interest in land capable of being inherited)

right ((frequently plural) the interest possessed by law or custom in some intangible thing)

reversion ((law) an interest in an estate that reverts to the grantor (or his heirs) at the end of some period (e.g., the death of the grantee))

equity (the ownership interest of shareholders in a corporation)

undivided interest; undivided right (the interest in property owned by tenants whereby each tenant has an equal right to enjoy the entire property)

terminable interest (an interest in property that terminates under specific conditions)

security interest (any interest in a property that secures the payment of an obligation)

vested interest ((law) an interest in which there is a fixed right to present or future enjoyment and that can be conveyed to another)

insurable interest (an interest in a person or thing that will support the issuance of an insurance policy; an interest in the survival of the insured or in the preservation of the thing that is insured)

controlling interest (ownership of more than 50% of a corporation's voting shares)

grubstake (funds advanced to a prospector or to someone starting a business in return for a share of the profits)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A pole or stake set up to mark something (as the start or end of a race track)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

post; stake

Context example:

the corner of the lot was indicated by a stake

Hypernyms ("stake" is a kind of...):

visual signal (a signal that involves visual communication)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stake"):

winning post (the post at the end of a racecourse)

starting post (a post marking the starting point of a race (especially a horse race))

Derivation:

stake (mark with a stake)

stake (tie or fasten to a stake)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Instrument of execution consisting of a vertical post that a victim is tied to for burning

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("stake" is a kind of...):

instrument of execution (an instrument designed and used to take the life of a condemned person)

Derivation:

stake (kill by piercing with a spear or sharp pole)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The money risked on a gamble

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Synonyms:

bet; stake; stakes; wager

Hypernyms ("stake" is a kind of...):

gamble (money that is risked for possible monetary gain)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stake"):

jackpot; kitty; pot (the cumulative amount involved in a game (such as poker))

ante ((poker) the initial contribution that each player makes to the pot)

kitty; pool (the combined stakes of the betters)

Holonyms ("stake" is a part of...):

pool (any communal combination of funds)

Derivation:

stake (place a bet on)

stake (put at risk)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A strong wooden or metal post with a point at one end so it can be driven into the ground

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("stake" is a kind of...):

post (an upright consisting of a piece of timber or metal fixed firmly in an upright position)

• STAKE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they stake    ... he / she / it stakes   
Past simple: staked   
Past participle: staked   
-ing form: staking   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Put at risk

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

adventure; hazard; jeopardize; stake; venture

Context example:

I will stake my good reputation for this

Hypernyms (to "stake" is one way to...):

lay on the line; put on the line; risk (expose to a chance of loss or damage)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

stake (the money risked on a gamble)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Place a bet on

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Synonyms:

back; bet on; gage; game; punt; stake

Context example:

I'm betting on the new horse

Hypernyms (to "stake" is one way to...):

bet; play; wager (stake on the outcome of an issue)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "stake"):

ante (place one's stake)

double up; parlay (stake winnings from one bet on a subsequent wager)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s on something

Sentence example:

They stake the money

Derivation:

stake (the money risked on a gamble)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Mark with a stake

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

post; stake

Context example:

stake out the path

Hypernyms (to "stake" is one way to...):

mark (make or leave a mark on)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

stake (a pole or stake set up to mark something (as the start or end of a race track))

Sense 4

Meaning:

Tie or fasten to a stake

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

stake your goat

Hypernyms (to "stake" is one way to...):

fasten; fix; secure (cause to be firmly attached)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

stake (a pole or stake set up to mark something (as the start or end of a race track))

Sense 5

Meaning:

Kill by piercing with a spear or sharp pole

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

impale; stake

Context example:

the enemies were impaled and left to die

Hypernyms (to "stake" is one way to...):

kill (cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly)

"Stake" entails doing...:

pierce (make a hole into)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody PP

Sentence example:

They want to stake the prisoners

Derivation:

stake (instrument of execution consisting of a vertical post that a victim is tied to for burning)

 Context examples 

I know that all that brave earnest men can do for a poor weak woman, whose soul perhaps is lost—no, no, not yet, but is at any rate at stake—you will do.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

If he can stake his all upon the lightest object, I can stake my all upon a greater purpose.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

I thought of his words as I watched my uncle that morning, for I believe that no victim tied to the stake could have had a worse outlook before him.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

When you came in here, I'll stake my wig, you meant more than this.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

You must play your cards as best you can when such a stake is on the table.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

However, at any rate, as I have a great deal more at stake on this point than anybody else can have, I think it rather unnecessary in you to be advising me.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Are you disposed to pity me for what I must have suffered in opening the cause to him, for my suspense while all was at stake?

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

I'll stake my good name as a shikarree, said he, that the track is a fresh one.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Were I even careless in general on such matters, how could you imagine me so where your happiness was at stake?

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

For you, Mr. Merryweather, the stake will be some £ 30,000; and for you, Jones, it will be the man upon whom you wish to lay your hands.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)