Meaning of stake In English

• 0 a share or a financial involvement in something such as a business:

  • He holds (= owns) a 40 percent stake in/of the company.

  • Employers have a stake in the training of their staff.

• 1 the amount of money that you risk on the result of something such as a game or competition:

  • She spent two weeks in Las Vegas playing high-stakes blackjack at the casinos.

  • The team is playing for enormous stakes - the chance to play in the final.

  • The prime minister is not very high in the popularity stakes (= he is not very popular) at the moment.

  • The stowaways are trying to raise the stakes by refusing to eat until they are given money and aid.

• 2 a strong stick or metal bar with a pointed end:

  • The stakes are pushed or hammered into the ground and can be used for supporting a plant or forming part of a fence.

  • In medieval Europe, many women were accused of being witches and were burned at the stake.

• 3 to risk an amount of money:

  • At the roulette table, he staked $10,000 on number 21.

• 4 to hold up and support something by fastening it to stakes:

  • Tomato plants should be staked.

• 5 a share in something, esp. a financial share in a business, or an emotional investment in something:

  • He holds a 20% stake in the company.

  • Parents have a large stake in their children’s education.

  • Global competition has raised the stakes of doing business.

• 6 the amount of money that you risk on the result of a game or competition:

  • Almost everyone has a stake in the global economy these days.

• 7 a thick, strong, pointed wood or metal pole pushed into the ground and used to mark a spot or to support something:

  • Stakes in the ground marked the outline of the new building.

• 8 to risk harming or losing something important:

  • He has talent and ambition, and I’d stake my reputation on his success.

• 9 to fasten something to a stake:

  • Tomato plants should be staked soon after they are planted.

• 10 the amount that someone has invested in a company, often expressed as a percentage of the total share capital (= money invested in a business in the form of shares):

  • a 15%/3%/10%, etc. stake His 22% stake makes him the retailer's biggest shareholder.

  • have/hold/own a stake (in sth) The Chief Executive has a controlling stake in the company worth €58m.

  • acquire/buy/sell a stake (in sth)

  • increase/raise/reduce a stake (in sth)

• 11 if you have a stake in something, its success or failure will have an effect on you:

  • All three officials have a personal stake in the President's re-election as it would allow them to keep their jobs.

• 12 the amount of money you risk losing by guessing the result of something wrongly:

  • The City continued to play for high stakes in shares of the airline.

  • Given the high stakes for both hardware makers and software suppliers, neither side is likely to give up easily.

• 13 if something like money, a job, or someone's reputation is at stake, it is in danger of being lost because of a particular situation:

  • The company's reputation is at stake and they need to act quickly and decisively.

  • Up to 300 jobs are thought to be at stake at head office.

• 14 to state that you have a right to something and that it should belong to you:

  • Foreign companies across a range of sectors seek to stake a claim in China's fast-growing economy.

  • stake a claim to/for/on sth Various countries are trying to stake their claims to the oil under the polar ice cap.