stake

Everyday

1. A stake is a strong pointed stick or post pushed into the ground, for example to hold up a plant, a tent or a fence. tree →
2. A stake is money or something valuable that you risk in a bet or game. tree →
3. A stake in something is a share or interest in it, so you gain or lose if it does well or badly: "She has a stake in the company." tree →
4. "At stake" means at risk, able to be won or lost: "The championship is at stake." tree →
5. (verb) To stake means to fix with stakes, to bet or risk something, or to claim: "stake a claim". tree →
6. (history) In the past some people were cruelly killed by burning while tied to a stake. tree →

In the lessons

In gardening and science, stakes hold up tomato and bean plants. In maths and money lessons, a stake in a bet is the amount risked; the winnings depend on the odds. In stories and news, "high stakes" and "at stake" tell the reader something important can be lost. In history, people were "burned at the stake", for example during religious persecutions. Phrases: "at stake", "high stakes", "stake a claim", "stake out" (watch a place secretly), "pull up stakes" (move away).

Examples

• We tied the tomato plant to a wooden stake. tree →
• Hammer the tent stakes into the ground. tree →
• His job was at stake if the project failed. tree →
• It was a high-stakes final, so everyone was nervous. tree →
• Miners staked their claims during the gold rush. tree →
• Workers who own shares have a stake in the company. tree →
• The police staked out the house all night. tree →
• Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431. tree →

Note

Homophone trap: stake (post, bet, share) and steak (a thick slice of meat) sound the same. Countable: a stake, stakes. In money problems, if you lose a bet you lose your stake; if you win, you usually get your stake back plus winnings.

In Jewish tradition

In Zechariah the stake is a tent peg, a picture of a firm ruler who holds things steady.

Interpretation. Tradition reads the corner-stone, tent peg and battle bow as leaders who will come from Judah, and many commentators take it as pointing to a future ideal ruler.

Examples

• Out of them shall come forth the corner-stone, out of them the stake, out of them the battle bow, out of them every master together. (Prophets ZEC.10.4, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Homophone trap: stake (post, bet, share) and steak (a thick slice of meat) sound the same. Countable: a stake, stakes. In money problems, if you lose a bet you lose your stake; if you win, you usually get your stake back plus winnings.