stake

A personal interest in something because its result can affect you.

• We all have a stake in this decision.
• She has a personal stake in the project.
• Local families had a stake in protecting the river.

How to use it: have a stake in something (Parents have a stake in the future of the school.)

Similar words: interest

Common phrases: have a stake, stake in something, personal stake

A pointed piece of wood or metal pushed into the ground to support or mark something.

• Hammer the stake into the ground.
• We tied the tent ropes to metal stakes.
• A wooden stake marks the edge of the garden.

Similar words: post, peg

Common phrases: wooden stake, tent stake, drive a stake

A share of ownership in a business or other activity.

• He owns a small stake in the business.
• The bank sold its stake in the company.
• They purchased a majority stake last year.

How to use it: stake in something (She bought a stake in the company.)

Similar words: share, holding, interest

Common phrases: stake in something, majority stake, minority stake, buy a stake

A wooden post to which someone was tied and burned as a punishment.

• The prisoner was tied to the stake.
• They threatened to burn her at the stake.
• The museum describes executions at the stake.

Common phrases: at the stake, burn at the stake

To support, secure, or mark the edges of something using pointed posts in the ground.

• We need to stake these plants.
• She staked the young trees after planting them.
• The surveyor staked the boundary of the field.

Common phrases: stake tomato plants, stake a tent, stake a boundary

To give someone money so they can gamble or start a business activity.

• His friend staked him for the game.
• She staked her brother to his first business.
• Could you stake me to another hundred dollars?

How to use it: stake someone to something (Her uncle staked her to the money for her first shop.)

Similar words: fund, back, finance

Common phrases: stake someone, stake someone to something

To push a pointed piece of wood or metal into something, especially to injure or kill.

• The hero staked the vampire.
• She tried to stake the creature through its heart.
• The hunter carried wood to stake the monster.

Similar words: impale

Common phrases: stake a vampire, stake through something