stakes

Everyday

1. Pointed wooden or metal posts pushed into the ground, for example to hold up plants or a tent. tree →
2. Money or something valuable risked in a bet or game; «the stakes are high» means a lot can be won or lost. tree →
3. A share in a business: «a stake in the company». tree →
4. (verb) Third-person form of «stake»: risks something, or marks land with posts. tree →
5. (history) A post at which people were once killed by burning, as in «burned at the stake». tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life, gardeners use stakes to support tomatoes and tents are fixed with stakes (also called pegs). In sport and games, «high stakes» means a match matters a lot. In history lessons, people accused of heresy or witchcraft were sometimes burned at the stake. In money talk, «a stake» is part ownership. Phrases: «at stake» (at risk), «high stakes», «stake a claim».

Examples

• Push the stakes into the ground to hold the tent. tree →
• Tie the beans to the stakes so they grow straight. tree →
• The stakes are high: the winner goes to the final. tree →
• Our team's place in the league is at stake. tree →
• He staked all his sweets on winning the game. tree →
• Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431. tree →
• She owns a stake in her family's bakery. tree →
• “O son of a king,” said she, “I demand a game with you for stakes.” tree →

Note

Countable. Homophone: «steaks» (pieces of meat) — «stakes» are posts or bets. «At stake» means at risk (not a meat!). In maths with money, «stake» is the amount bet.

In Jewish tradition

In Isaiah they are tent pegs, which must be strong to hold a larger tent.

Interpretation. The verse is read as comfort for Jerusalem: she will grow and gain many children, so she must widen her tent and set her pegs firmly.

Examples

• Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thy habitations, spare not; lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes. (Prophets ISA.54.2, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Countable. Homophone: «steaks» (pieces of meat) — «stakes» are posts or bets. «At stake» means at risk (not a meat!). In maths with money, «stake» is the amount bet.