What does "stake" mean?
A piece of wood or other material, usually long and slender, pointed at one end so as to be easily driven into the ground as a marker or a support or stay.
Stake
/steɪk/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A piece of wood or other material, usually long and slender, pointed at one end so as to be easily driven into the ground as a marker or a support or stay.
- Grammar: stake is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: bet, interest, post, wager.
- Useful contrasts: avoid, disinvestment, extract.
- Usage evidence: We have a substantial stake in the venture.
How to use "stake"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "stake" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "stake" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "stake" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "stake" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "stake" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "bet" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "stake", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A piece of wood or other material, usually long and slender, pointed at one end so as to be easily driven into the ground as a marker or a support or stay.
"We have surveyor's stakes at all four corners of this field, to mark exactly its borders."
- 2 a strong wooden or metal post with a point at one end so it can be driven into the ground wordnet
- 3 A piece of wood driven in the ground, placed in the middle of the court, that is used as the finishing point after scoring 12 hoops in croquet.
- 4 instrument of execution consisting of a vertical post that a victim is tied to for burning wordnet
- 5 A stick or similar object (e.g., steel channel or angle stock) inserted upright in a lop, eye, or mortise, at the side or end of a cart, flat car, flatbed trailer, or the like, to prevent goods from falling off; often connected in a grid forming a stakebody.
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 a pole or stake set up to mark something (as the start or end of a race track) wordnet
- 7 The piece of timber to which a person condemned to death was affixed to be burned. with-definite-article
"Thomas Cranmer was burnt at the stake."
- 8 (law) a right or legal share of something; a financial involvement with something wordnet
- 9 A share or interest in a business or a given situation.
"The owners let the managers eventually earn a stake in the business."
- 10 the money risked on a gamble wordnet
- 11 That which is laid down as a wager; that which is staked or hazarded; a pledge.
- 12 A small anvil usually furnished with a tang to enter a hole in a bench top, as used by tinsmiths, blacksmiths, etc., for light work, punching hole in or cutting a work piece, or for specific forming techniques etc.
- 13 A territorial division comprising all the Mormons (typically several thousand) in a geographical area. Mormonism
"Every city, or stake, including a chief town and surrounding towns, has its president, with two counselors; and this president has a high council of chosen men."
Verb
- 1 To fasten, support, defend, or delineate with stakes. transitive
"to stake vines or plants"
- 2 place a bet on wordnet
- 3 To pierce or wound with a stake. transitive
"You see, I'd made a bargain with him to buy the horse for a hundred and twenty—a swinging price, but I always liked the horse. And what does he do but go and stake him—fly at a hedge with stakes in it, atop of a bank with a ditch before it."
- 4 kill by piercing with a spear or sharp pole wordnet
- 5 To put at risk upon success in competition, or upon a future contingency. transitive
"I'll ſtake my Lamb that near the Fountain plays, / And from the Brink his dancing Shade ſurveys."
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 mark with a stake wordnet
- 7 To provide (another) with money in order to engage in an activity as betting or a business venture. transitive
"John went broke, so to keep him playing, Jill had to stake him."
- 8 tie or fasten to a stake wordnet
- 9 To deposit and risk a considerable amount of cryptocurrency in order to participate in the proof of stake process of verification.
"Any peer can participate in the mining process by staking coins in order to validate a new transaction. To become a miner, there are two options; you can stake your coins to be used by a trustworthy node […], or you can submit a full node to be selected as a miner."
- 10 put at risk wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Antonyms
Example
"We have a substantial stake in the venture."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "stake"?
Common synonyms include: bet, interest, post, wager, absolute interest, adventure.
How do you use "stake" in a sentence?
We have a substantial stake in the venture.
How do you pronounce "stake"?
Pronounced /steɪk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English stake, from Old English staca (“pin, tack, stake”), from Proto-West Germanic *stakō, from Proto-Germanic *stakô (“stake”), from Proto-Indo-European *stog-, *steg- (“stake”). Cognate with Scots stak, staik, Saterland Frisian Stak, West Frisian staak, Dutch staak, Low German Stake, Norwegian stake, Spanish estaca.
Etymology 2
English surname, from the noun stake. Compare Staff, Stack.