stake

Definitions


[steɪk], (Noun)

Definitions:
- a 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 metalworker's small anvil, typically with a projection for fitting into a socket on a bench

- a territorial division of a Latter-day Saints (Mormon) Church under the jurisdiction of a president


Phrases:
- go to the stake for
- pull up stakes
- stake a claim

Origin:
Old English staca, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch staak, also to stick


[steɪk], (Verb)

Definitions:
- support (a plant) with a stake or stakes
(e.g: the gladioli were staked in gaudy ranks)


Phrases:
- go to the stake for
- pull up stakes
- stake a claim

Origin:
Old English staca, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch staak, also to stick


[steɪk], (Noun)

Definitions:
- a sum of money or something else of value gambled on the outcome of a risky game or venture
(e.g: playing dice for high stakes)


Phrases:
- at stake

Origin:
late Middle English: perhaps a specialized usage of stake, from the notion of an object being placed as a wager on a post or stake


[steɪk], (Verb)

Definitions:
- gamble (money or something else of value) on the outcome of a game or race
(e.g: one gambler staked everything he'd got and lost)

- give financial or other support to
(e.g: he staked him to an education at the École des Beaux-Arts)


Phrases:
- at stake

Origin:
late Middle English: perhaps a specialized usage of stake, from the notion of an object being placed as a wager on a post or stake




definition by Oxford Dictionaries