stake
noun
[ steɪk ]
• a strong wooden or metal post with a point at one end, driven into the ground to support a plant, form part of a fence, mark a boundary, etc.
Similar:
post,
pole,
stick,
spike,
upright,
support,
prop,
strut,
stave,
pale,
paling,
picket,
pile,
piling,
stanchion,
shaft,
cane,
beanpole,
rod,
mast,
palisade,
• a metalworker's small anvil, typically with a projection for fitting into a socket on a bench.
• a territorial division of the Mormon Church under the jurisdiction of a president.
stake
verb
• support (a plant) with a stake or stakes.
• "the gladioli were staked in gaudy ranks"
Similar:
prop up,
tie up,
tether,
support,
hold up,
bolster up,
brace,
buttress,
reinforce,
truss,
stay,
Origin:
Old English staca, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch staak, also to stick2.
stake
noun
• a sum of money or something else of value gambled on the outcome of a risky game or venture.
• "playing dice for high stakes"
stake
verb
• gamble (money or something else of value) on the outcome of a game or race.
• "one gambler staked everything he'd got and lost"
Similar:
bet,
wager,
place a bet of,
lay,
put on,
gamble,
pledge,
chance,
venture,
risk,
hazard,
• give financial or other support to.
• "he staked him to an education at the École des Beaux-Arts"
Origin:
late Middle English: perhaps a specialized usage of stake1, from the notion of an object being placed as a wager on a post or stake.
