stakes 1 of 2

noun

plural of stake
1
as in interests
a legal right to participation in the advantages, profits, and responsibility of something if I invest in your business, I expect a stake in it in return

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2
as in bets
the money or thing risked on the outcome of an uncertain event lost his entire stake with a single roll of the dice

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stakes

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of stake
1
as in funds
to provide money for the actor staked the entire production of the film with his own money

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in puts
to risk (something) on the outcome of an uncertain event I'd stake a year's salary that she'll win the general election

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of stakes
Noun
Higher stakes The stakes rise considerably when attackers target operational technology. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026 But he was forced to apologize after his plans to form a subsidiary to run the tournament, which would have opened the door for investors to buy stakes of up to ​20% in a spinout firm, collapsed after widespread backlash across the sport. — Joseph Wilkins, CNBC, 11 Aug. 2026 Apollo has been expanding its focus on providing long-term financing to sports leagues and clubs, while also taking ownership stakes. — Bloomberg, Fortune, 11 Aug. 2026 Other holdings include minority stakes in Wrexham FC, the Welsh football club owned by actors Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds, as well as investments in the Madrid and Miami Open tennis tournaments. — Sara Germano, Sportico.com, 11 Aug. 2026 He and his site developer Fabio Moreira were inspired by a craving for stakes that transcend the page. — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 11 Aug. 2026 High-stakes questions about when to retire and how long savings would last had no clean answers, even for someone who had spent her career inside the financial system. — Geri Stengel, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026 As youth sports and other activities become more and more competitive with what feels like increasingly high stakes, your child may experience some disappointment if they’re not picked for a team or chosen for a role. — Kara Nesvig, Parents, 10 Aug. 2026 The Democratic primary for Michigan's 7th Congressional District puts the high stakes for the party in the midterm elections on full display. — Tamara Keith, NPR, 4 Aug. 2026
Verb
Kent Nishimura | Reuters The Senate stakes McConnell, a former longtime Senate majority leader, declined to seek an eighth term following a series of health scares. — Luke Fountain, CNBC, 8 July 2026 Dar Zéro founder Brigid Smith stakes her claim on bohemian style, blending gritty luxury with elevated, global influences. — Rebecca Suhrawardi, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026 The Arab Republic of Egypt (1953) stakes a natural claim to the Rosetta Stone, which was commissioned in 196 BCE by a Greek-speaking pharaoh of Macedonian descent, and unearthed near Alexandria by French engineers in 1799. — Literary Hub, 18 May 2026 Ocean Casino Resort stakes its claim directly on the Atlantic City Boardwalk with views of a ferris wheel and lighthouse as though to remind you of the city’s modest beachtown origins. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 May 2026 November stakes In Lake County, the positions of Clerk, Treasurer, and Sheriff — currently held by Anthony Vega, Holly Kim and John Idleburg, respectively — are all coming up for election, as well as county board positions for Districts 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 19. — Joseph States, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026 Small towns may have the majority of oceanfront real estate, but Pensacola stakes its claim with more than 50 miles of white-sand shoreline. — Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 12 Mar. 2026 That is, until Vlad arrives and stakes a claim on her every waking thought. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 5 Mar. 2026 The majority stakes the largest detention initiative in American history on the possibility that … Congress must have wanted these noncitizens detained—some of them the spouses, mothers, fathers, and grandparents of American citizens. — Ben Fenwick, Oklahoma Watch, 12 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stakes
  1. interests
  2. bets
  3. funds
  4. puts
  5. shares
  6. wagers
  7. finances
Noun
  • Experts urge parents to listen to pediatricians, who have the best interests of their kids at heart.
    — Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Over time, Russian prosecutors have begun to charge more of these Ukrainians with treason—for the crime of betraying Russia—rather than with harming the interests of a foreign state.
    — Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of interests
Noun
  • The cold streak for the MLB best home run bets came to a merciful end on Saturday.
    — Josh Shepardson, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Throughout his career, Ackman has built a reputation for taking unconventional positions and backing them with conviction—whether making bold investment bets or weighing in on contentious public debates.
    — Preston Fore, Fortune, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of bets
Verb
  • To combat the spread, the USDA jointly funds and manages a sterile fly production facility with Panama that releases about 100 million sterile flies each week.
    — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Central technology funds the experiments, the platform and the build.
    — Sanjay Srivastava, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of funds
Verb
  • Quote of note Veteran center Garrett Bradbury has enjoyed his introduction to Ben Johnson’s offense, a system that puts a lot of responsibility on the guy snapping the ball.
    — Dan Wiederer, New York Times, 12 Aug. 2026
  • As Stevie Wonder’s eponymous 1972 hit suggests, there’s something specifically ominous about a 13-month-old baby that puts it in league with the bad juju of falling ladders and broken looking glasses.
    — Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of puts
Noun
  • This Sinestro's muzzle fuzz shares more in common with Mario than anything else.
    — Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Berkshire also sharply increased its shares in Delta Air Lines and Macy's in the second quarter.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of shares
Noun
  • State law now bans proposition betting in sports — wagers on certain events happening in a game, rather than the game’s outcome — which is a significant source of revenue for the leading prediction markets.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Fortunately, home run bets are long-shot wagers, so bettors don’t need to get many correct to generate a profit.
    — Josh Shepardson, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of wagers
Verb
  • An American who purchases a home in Switzerland, Germany or the United Kingdom typically finances that home in Swiss francs, euros or pounds — the currency in which the property is priced and in which the taxpayer earns income.
    — Virginia La Torre Jeker, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Their model included where the city’s water comes from, how the local utility finances new infrastructure and sets rates and how rising rates might change how households use water.
    — Emma Court, Fortune, 8 July 2026
Definition of finances

Phrases Containing stakes

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Cite this Entry

“Stakes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stakes. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of stakes for Spanish Speakers

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