stake

B2 Topic:Gardening & Horticulture

US /steɪk/ See IPA manual

Homophones

steak /steɪk/

Freq #3188

Meanings

1

noun
A share or financial interest in a business or situation.

She owns a 20 percent stake in the company.
2

noun
A pointed wooden or metal post driven into the ground as a marker or support.

They marked the corners of the field with wooden stakes.
3

verb
To risk money or something important on the result of something.

He staked his whole savings on the new business.
4

verb
To support or fasten a plant to a stake.

We staked the young tomato plants.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Multiword verbs with stake

stake out Phrasal verb B2

to mark the boundaries or route of something with posts

Thesaurus

Synonyms

3 verb · to risk money or something... adventure

Word family

Forms stakedstakesstaking

Derived forms alestakebougar-stakesgrub-stakegrubstakemerestakerestakeridstakestake-driverstakebedstakebodystakebuildingstakeford

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

stake out
to mark the boundaries or route of something with posts

Verb + adverb

Simplified etymology

Stake, meaning a thick pointed stick driven into the ground, comes from Old English and is related to stick. Its late medieval gambling sense may derive from the supposed practice of placing a wager on a post, though there is no firm evidence for that custom. Stake a claim arose during the California gold rush, when prospectors marked a claimed plot with wooden stakes.

Etymology

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.

*(s)teg- (pole) Proto-Indo-European stake Middle English staca Old English *stakō Proto-West Germanic *stakô Proto-Germanic *stog- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Gardening & Horticulture General Vocabulary

External links

# stake

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /steɪk/
**Frequency rank:** 3188

## Meanings
1. A share or financial interest in a business or situation.
2. A pointed wooden or metal post driven into the ground as a marker or support.
3. To risk money or something important on the result of something.
4. To support or fasten a plant to a stake.

## Examples
- She owns a 20 percent stake in the company.
- They marked the corners of the field with wooden stakes.
- He staked his whole savings on the new business.
- We staked the young tomato plants.

## Derived Forms
- alestake
- bougar-stakes
- grub-stake
- grubstake
- merestake
- restake
- ridstake
- stake-driver
- stakebed
- stakebody
- stakebuilding
- stakeford

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *(s)teg- (pole)
- Root: stake
- Root: staca
- Root: *stakō
- Root: *stakô
- Root: *stog-

## Etymology
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.

## AI Etymology
Stake is 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. In present-day use, it can mean a share or financial interest in a business or situation, or a pointed wooden or metal post driven into the ground as a marker or support.

## Topics
- Gardening & Horticulture
- General Vocabulary

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