<p><strong>Noun</strong></p><ul><li>a stick or post pointed at one end for driving into the ground as a boundary mark, part of a fence, support for a plant, etc.<ul><li>Synonyms: pike, picket, pale</li></ul></li><li>a post to which a person is bound for execution, usually by burning.</li><li>the stake, the punishment of death by burning: Joan of Arc was sentenced to the stake.</li><li>one of a number of vertical posts fitting into sockets or staples on the edge of the platform of a truck or other vehicle, as to retain the load.</li><li>Mormon Church. a division of ecclesiastical territory, consisting of a number of wards presided over by a president and two counselors.</li><li>sett (def 2).</li></ul><p><strong>Verb</strong></p><ul><li>(used with object)<ul><li>staked, staking.</li><li>to mark with or as if with stakes (often followed by off or out): We staked out the boundaries of the garden.</li><li>to possess, claim, or reserve a share of (land, profit, glory, etc.) as if by marking or bounding with stakes (usually followed by out or off): I'm staking out ten percent of the profit for myself.</li><li>to separate or close off by a barrier of stakes.</li><li>to support with a stake or stakes, as a plant: to stake tomato vines.</li><li>to tether or secure to a stake, as an animal: They staked the goat in the back yard.</li><li>to fasten with a stake or stakes.</li></ul></li></ul><p><strong>Verb Phrase</strong></p><ul><li>to keep (a suspect) under police surveillance.</li><li>to appoint (a police officer) to maintain constant watch over a suspect or place.</li></ul>