{
    "term": "stake",
    "partOfSpeech": "noun",
    "ox5000": true,
    "cefr": "c1",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "money that somebody invests in a company",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "a 20 per cent stake in the business"
                },
                {
                    "text": "a **controlling/majority/minority stake**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "IBM will take an 18 per cent ownership stake in the new company."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She acquired a 4 per cent direct stake in the company."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Business"],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["controlling", "large", "majority"],
                "verb + stake": ["have", "own", "acquire"],
                "preposition": ["stake in"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "a part or share in a business, plan, etc. that will bring you money or other benefits if it succeeds",
            "sensetop": "stake in something",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "She has a personal stake in the success of the play."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Many young people no longer feel they have a stake in society."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He has a personal stake in the outcome of the war."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "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",
            "cefr": "c2",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "How much was the stake *(= how much did you bet)*?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "They were playing cards for **high stakes** *(= a lot of money)*."
                },
                {
                    "text": "With only two points separating the top five players, **the stakes are high** as they enter the final round."
                },
                {
                    "text": "They always play for high stakes."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The political stakes are high."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Sports: other sports", "Money"],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["big", "high", "low"],
                "verb + stake": ["play for", "raise", "lower"],
                "preposition": ["at stake"],
                "phrases": ["with so much at stake"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "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.",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Tall plants can be secured by tying them to stakes."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He was hammering stakes into the ground."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The plants are supported with stout stakes."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The route was marked with stakes with red stripes painted on them."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 5,
            "definition": "a wooden post that somebody could be tied to in former times before being burnt to death (= killed by fire) as a punishment",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Joan of Arc was **burnt at the stake**."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 6,
            "definition": "the money that is paid to the winners in horse racing",
            "cefr": "c2",
            "examples": [],
            "topics": ["Sports: other sports"]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 7,
            "definition": "used in the names of some horse races",
            "cefr": "c2",
            "examples": [],
            "topics": ["Sports: other sports"]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "that can be won or lost, depending on the success of a particular action",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "We cannot afford to take risks when people's lives are at stake."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The prize at stake is a place in the final."
                },
                {
                    "text": "With so much at stake, we can't afford to make mistakes."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He will face the investigation with his reputation at stake."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to be prepared to do anything in order to defend your opinions or beliefs",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He would have gone to the stake for his belief in his daughter’s innocence."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "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",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "John doesn't do too well in the personality stakes."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She was determined to win in the fashion stakes."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to suddenly move from your house and go to live somewhere else",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He pulled up stakes and went back to France."
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/steɪk/",
                "audio": "st/stake/stake__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/steɪk/",
                "audio": "st/stake/stake__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "noun 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."
}