See Also: Stake Bay(tourism)
stake(4)(dictionary)
stake(3)(dictionary)
stake(2)(dictionary)
stake(1)(dictionary)
Stake(money)
Stake(medicine)
stake 1, noun(dictionary)
stake-driver(medicine)
stake 2, verb(dictionary)

stake(2) (iou)



stake noun2. LME.
[Perh. specialized use of STAKE noun1, from placing an object as a wager on a post or stake.]
A thing, esp. a sum of money, wagered on the outcome of a game, race, or contest. LME.
J. Cheever You can win..a hundred dollars on a game, but the stakes are usually..lower.
b. fig. An interest, a concern, esp. a financial one. L18.
H. Evans He..bought a 40% stake in London Weekend Television. P. Roazen Freud had..a..professional stake in their marriage.
a. In pl. Money offered as a prize in a race esp. for horses or dogs. L17.
b. sing. & (usu.) in pl. A race, esp. for horses or dogs, in which money is so offered. Freq. with specifying words. M18.
P. Larkin Faint afternoons Of Cups and Stakes and Handicaps. Field The Champion Stakes..for..all-aged greyhounds.
c. fig. In pl. With specifying word: something involving competition in the activity or quality specified. colloq. L19.
J. Galsworthy He was not going to enter for the slander stakes. Spare Rib Outdoing other girls in the beauty stakes.
A sum of money earned or saved; a store of provisions or money necessary to survive a certain period. N. Amer. slang. M18.
Phrases: at stake (a) risked, to be won or lost; (b) at issue, in question. nursery stakes: see NURSERY 7.