at stake

(stāk)

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. often stakes Money or property risked in a wager or gambling game.

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. Something, such as a crucial change or grave consequence, that may result from a situation:

The stakes are high in the mayoral election.

8. A grubstake.