stake·out
ˈstāk-ˌau̇t 
: a surveillance maintained by the police of an area or a person suspected of criminal activity
staked out; staking out; stakes out
1
: to assign (someone, such as a police officer) to an area usually to conduct a surveillance
2
: to maintain a stakeout of
3
: to claim as one's own
Examples of stakeout in a Sentence
Noun
The drug deal was witnessed during a stakeout of the building.
The police were on a stakeout.
Recent Examples on the Web
Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
The detectives assigned to the stakeouts arrested three persons Friday night on charges of robbery and kidnapping.
—The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, arkansasonline.com, 2 Mar. 2025
American Booksellers Association, USA Today, 10 May 2025
These companies have staked out geographical territories and technical competencies and are focused on designing, building, and sometimes operating the largest desalination plants on earth, some generating millions of cubic meters of freshwater per day.
—Erik Kobayashi-Solomon, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for stakeout
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Noun
In 2023, a forty-eight-year-old El Paso resident was taking medicine to her grandmother when she was arrested by state troopers on a stakeout, who had mistaken her for a smuggler.
—Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
The detectives assigned to the stakeouts arrested three persons Friday night on charges of robbery and kidnapping.
—The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, arkansasonline.com, 2 Mar. 2025
Verb
Independent, specialty bookstores stake out a real alternative to online retailers that try to offer everything for everyone.
—American Booksellers Association, USA Today, 10 May 2025
These companies have staked out geographical territories and technical competencies and are focused on designing, building, and sometimes operating the largest desalination plants on earth, some generating millions of cubic meters of freshwater per day.
—Erik Kobayashi-Solomon, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for stakeout
Cite this Entry
“Stakeout.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stakeout. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
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