- [countable] money that somebody invests in a company
- a 20 per cent stake in the business
- a controlling/majority/minority stake
Extra ExamplesTopics Businessc1- IBM will take an 18 per cent ownership stake in the new company.
- She acquired a 4 per cent direct stake in the company.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- controlling
- large
- majority
- …
- have
- own
- acquire
- …
- stake in
Definitions on the go
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- [singular] stake in something a part or share in a business, plan, etc. that will bring you money or other benefits if it succeeds
- She has a personal stake in the success of the play.
- Many young people no longer feel they have a stake in society.
- He has a personal stake in the outcome of the war.
- [countable] something that you risk losing, especially money, when you try to predict the result of a race, game, etc., or when you are involved in an activity that can succeed or fail
- How much was the stake (= how much did you bet)?
- They were playing cards for high stakes (= a lot of money).
- With only two points separating the top five players, the stakes are high as they enter the final round.
Extra ExamplesTopics Sports: other sportsc2, Moneyc2- They always play for high stakes.
- The political stakes are high.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- high
- low
- …
- play for
- raise
- lower
- …
- at stake
- with so much at stake
- [countable] a wooden or metal post that is pointed at one end and pushed into the ground in order to support something, mark a particular place, etc.
- Tall plants can be secured by tying them to stakes.
Extra Examples- He was hammering stakes into the ground.
- The plants are supported with stout stakes.
- The route was marked with stakes with red stripes painted on them.
- the stake[singular] a wooden post that somebody could be tied to in former times before being burnt to death (= killed by fire) as a punishment
- Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake.
- stakes[plural] the money that is paid to the winners in horse racingTopics Sports: other sportsc2
- stakes[uncountable] used in the names of some horse racesTopics Sports: other sportsc2
Word Originnoun senses 1 to 2 Old English staca, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch staak, also to the verb stick. noun senses 3 to 6 late Middle English: perhaps a specialized usage of stake ‘post’ from the notion of an object being placed as a wager on a post or stake.
Idioms
See stake in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee stake in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishat stake
- that can be won or lost, depending on the success of a particular action
- We cannot afford to take risks when people's lives are at stake.
- The prize at stake is a place in the final.
Extra Examples- With so much at stake, we can't afford to make mistakes.
- He will face the investigation with his reputation at stake.
go to the stake over/for something
- to be prepared to do anything in order to defend your opinions or beliefs
- He would have gone to the stake for his belief in his daughter’s innocence.
in the… stakes
- used to say how much of a particular quality a person has, as if they were in a competition in which some people are more successful than others
- John doesn't do too well in the personality stakes.
- She was determined to win in the fashion stakes.
pull up stakes (North American English)
(British English up sticks)
- (informal) to suddenly move from your house and go to live somewhere else
- He pulled up stakes and went back to France.
Check pronunciation:
stake