stakeout

1 of 2

noun

stake·​out ˈstāk-ˌau̇t 

: a surveillance maintained by the police of an area or a person suspected of criminal activity

stake out

2 of 2

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 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

Noun

Tidbits would sometimes filter in from new arrivals joining the media stakeout in front of the Kennedy compound. —Dan Heching, CNN Money, 26 Mar. 2026

The stakeout ended with an arrest, when police spotted Savion Drinkwater, 29, leaving the area with a gun, according to court records. —Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 26 Feb. 2026

Verb

The submission is, in effect, a manifesto for its continued existence, and stakes out a case for why the BBC’s licence fee funding model needs to be reformed to boost the corporation’s coffers. —Jake Kanter, Deadline, 2 Apr. 2026

Completed in a two-week blitz with Kenneth Blume (fka Kenny Beats), their debut album stakes out their vision of easy, deadpan cool. —Lydia Wei, Pitchfork, 31 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1942, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1951, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for stakeout

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