stake out

verb

staked out; staking out; stakes out

transitive verb

1

: to assign (someone, such as a police officer) to an area usually to conduct a surveillance

2

: to maintain a stakeout of

The police are staking out a building where criminal activity is suspected.

3

: to claim as one's own

staked out the biggest bedroom as his

4

: to mark the limits of (an area) with stakes

staking out where the shed will be built

5

: to state (one's opinion) in a very clear and definite way

She staked out her position on the issue in the speech.

Examples of stake out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Working, again, at the boundary between the sublime and the silly, Dumont nevertheless manages to stake out new territory with this alien portrait of childhood. —Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 25 May 2026

The district has one of the highest concentration of Jewish voters in the nation, with Goldman and Lander staking out divergent views on the Israel question. —Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 23 May 2026

On June 13, 2022, Peña called law enforcement for help staking out a parking lot in San Antonio. —Erin Moriarty, CBS News, 17 May 2026

Candidates staked out starkly different views on California’s shield laws and whether the state should cooperate with out‑of‑state prosecutions of doctors. —James Ward, USA Today, 15 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1951, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for stake out

• roundabout
• runabout
• sauerkraut
• thereabout
• turnabout
• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout