Stake
[steɪk] or [stek]
Definition
(noun.) a strong wooden or metal post with a point at one end so it can be driven into the ground.
(noun.) instrument of execution consisting of a vertical post that a victim is tied to for burning.
(noun.) the money risked on a gamble.
(verb.) mark with a stake; 'stake out the path'.
(verb.) tie or fasten to a stake; 'stake your goat'.
Typist: Silvia--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) A piece of wood, usually long and slender, pointed at one end so as to be easily driven into the ground as a support or stay; as, a stake to support vines, fences, hedges, etc.
(v. t.) A stick inserted upright in a lop, eye, or mortise, at the side or end of a cart, a flat car, or the like, to prevent goods from falling off.
(v. t.) The piece of timber to which a martyr was affixed to be burned; hence, martyrdom by fire.
(v. t.) A small anvil usually furnished with a tang to enter a hole in a bench top, -- used by tinsmiths, blacksmiths, etc., for light work, punching upon, etc.
(v. t.) That which is laid down as a wager; that which is staked or hazarded; a pledge.
(v. t.) To fasten, support, or defend with stakes; as, to stake vines or plants.
(v. t.) To mark the limits of by stakes; -- with out; as, to stake out land; to stake out a new road.
(v. t.) To put at hazard upon the issue of competition, or upon a future contingency; to wager; to pledge.
(v. t.) To pierce or wound with a stake.
Typed by Cyril
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Stick (pointed for driving into the ground), picket, pale.[2]. Wager, bet, pledge.[3]. Risk, hazard, venture, adventure.
v. a. Risk, venture, hazard, peril, imperil, jeopardize, wager, pledge, put at stake, put at hazard.
Typed by Dave
Definition
n. a strong stick pointed at one end: one of the upright pieces of a fence: a post to which an animal is tied esp. that to which a martyr was tied to be burned: martyrdom: a tinsmith's anvil: anything pledged in a wager: a prize anything to gain or lose.—v.t. to fasten or pierce with a stake: to mark the bounds of with stakes (often with off and out): to wager to hazard.—ns. Stake′-hold′er the person with whom the stakes in a wager are deposited; Stake′-net a form of fishing-net hung on stakes.—At stake hazarded in danger.
Edited by Emily
Examples
- They know how to drive a stake through a pleasant tradition that will hold it to its place forever. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Now, the stake I have resolved to play for, in case of the worst, is a friend in the Conciergerie. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- He will hold a card back for years in order to play it at the moment when the stake is best worth winning. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- Well--Selden had twice been ready to stake his faith on Lily Bart; but the third trial had been too severe for his endurance. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- The figure at the stake was very still, yet the black warriors were but pricking it. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- Yes, I said, my dear Glaucon, for great is the issue at stake, greater than appears, whether a man is to be good or bad. Plato. The Republic.
- His fortunes are more or less at stake in the issue of events. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- Nobody had mentioned what the stakes were. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- Mrs. Strong was just coming out of the garden, where Mr. Dick yet lingered, busy with his knife, helping the gardener to point some stakes. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- This time the stakes were won by Wildeve. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- Ronald Adair was fond of cards--playing continually, but never for such stakes as would hurt him. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- In short, said Sydney, this is a desperate time, when desperate games are played for desperate stakes. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- Drive stakes in the river at various places and note the time required for a chip to float from one stake to another. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- In his desire to repair his first losses, my father risked double stakes, and thus incurred a debt of honour he was wholly unable to pay. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Not if you staked your all on the success of my marriage. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- I never hesitated in pursuing the treatment on which I had staked everything. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- He staked his all on this throw. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Preparations are afoot, measurements are made, ground is staked out. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Robert Jordan said nothing more until they reached the meadow where the horses were staked out to feed. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- But nothing must be staked upon them, so let us turn at once to the constructive suggestions: The Commission proposes that the county establish a Permanent Committee on Child Protection. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- They were as much excited, however, as if they had been staking thousands. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
Edited by Joanne