at stake

stake  (stk)

n.

1. A piece of wood or metal pointed at one end for driving into the ground as a marker, fence pole, or tent peg.

2.

a. A vertical post to which an offender is bound for execution by burning.

b. Execution by burning. Used with the: condemned to the stake.

3. A vertical post secured in a socket at the edge of a platform, as on a truck bed, to help retain the load.

4. Mormon Church A territorial division consisting of a group of wards under the jurisdiction of a president.

5. Sports & Games

a. Money or property risked in a wager or gambling game. Often used in the plural. See Synonyms at bet.

b. The prize awarded the winner of a contest or race.

c. A race offering a prize to the winner, especially a horserace in which the prize consists of money contributed equally by the horse owners.

6.

a. A share or an interest in an enterprise, especially a financial share.

b. Personal interest or involvement: a stake in her children's future.

7. A grubstake.

tr.v. staked, stak·ing, stakes

1.

a. To mark the location or limits of with or as if with stakes: stake out a claim.

b. To claim as one's own: staked out a place for herself in industry.

2. To fasten, secure, or support with a stake or stakes.

3. To tether or tie to a stake.

4. To gamble or risk; hazard.

5. To provide working capital for; finance.

Phrasal Verb:

stake out

1. To assign (a police officer, for example) to an area to conduct surveillance.

2. To keep under surveillance.

Idiom:

at stake

At risk; in question.

---

[Middle English, from Old English staca.]

Thesaurus

Adv.	1.	at stake - in question or at issue; "there is more at stake than your modesty"
	2.	at stake - to be won or lost; at risk; "perhaps a million dollars are at stake"