The meaning of Stakes

noun

A stake put up by a player in poker or brag before receiving cards.

Usage examples:

The antes were at the $10,000–$20,000 level

verb

Put up an amount as an ante in poker or brag and similar games.

Usage examples:

He essentially gets to pick which bets he thinks are best, and ante them up.

prefix

Before; preceding.

Usage examples:

Antechapel

noun

A stick for supporting bean plants.

Usage examples:

I helped her plant seeds, set up beanpoles, and mend the fence

noun

A long thin stick used to support a plant such as a bean plant while it grows

verb

Risk a sum of money or valued item against someone else's on the basis of the outcome of an unpredictable event such as a race or game.

Usage examples:

He bet on baseball games

noun

An act of betting a sum of money.

Usage examples:

She had a bet on the derby

verb

To risk a sum of money on the unknown result of an event in the hope of winning more money than you have risked

Usage examples:

[ t ] he went to the race track and bet $2 on a horse., [ i ] i bet that the yankees won’t win the …

noun

A device fitted to something, in particular a weak or injured part of the body, to give support.

Usage examples:

A neck brace

verb

Make (a structure) stronger or firmer with wood, iron, or other forms of support.

Usage examples:

The posts were braced by lengths of timber

noun

A structure of stone or brick built against a wall to strengthen or support it.

Usage examples:

The cathedral's massive buttresses

verb

Provide (a building or structure) with buttresses.

Usage examples:

We buttressed the wall as it was showing signs of cracking and collapse

verb

To give support to or strengthen something

Usage examples:

He looked for things that would buttress the prosecution case and win a conviction.

noun

The hollow jointed stem of a tall grass, especially bamboo or sugar cane, or the stem of a slender palm such as rattan.

Usage examples:

They brought the eggs back to constantinople in hollow canes.

verb

Beat with a cane as a punishment.

Usage examples:

Matthew was caned for bullying by the headmaster

noun

A possibility of something happening.

Usage examples:

There is a chance of winning the raffle

adjective

Fortuitous; accidental.

Usage examples:

A chance meeting

verb

Do something by accident or without intending to.

Usage examples:

He was very effusive if they chanced to meet

verb

Play games of chance for money; bet.

Usage examples:

He gambles on football

noun

An act of gambling.

Usage examples:

Dad likes a bit of a gamble

verb

To risk losing money in the hope of winning a lot more money, esp. if the result of a future event happens as you hope

Usage examples:

[ i ] some people like to gamble even though the odds are against them., [ m ] he gambled away most…

noun

A danger or risk.

Usage examples:

The hazards of childbirth

verb

Say (something) in a tentative way.

Usage examples:

He hazarded a guess

noun

Something dangerous and likely to cause damage

Usage examples:

A health/fire hazard, a hazardous road, she wouldn’t hazard a guess about the meaning of the word.

collocation

Be the physical support of; carry the weight of

phrasal verb

Support and prevent something from falling.

Usage examples:

Concrete pillars hold up the elevated section of the railway

phrasal verb

Display something by holding it above one's waist or head.

Usage examples:

He held up the book so she could see the cover

verb

Put (something) down gently or carefully.

Usage examples:

She laid the baby in his cot

noun

Used with an abstract noun so that the phrase formed has the same meaning as the verb related to the noun used, e.g. ‘lay the blame on’ means ‘to blame’.

Usage examples:

She laid great stress on little courtesies

adjective

Not ordained into or belonging to the clergy.

Usage examples:

A lay preacher

noun

A tall upright post, spar, or other structure on a ship or boat, in sailing vessels generally carrying a sail or sails.

Usage examples:

Also in the water were strange vessels, with no masts or sails, built of gunmetal-gray metals that …

noun

The fruit of beech, oak, chestnut, and other forest trees, especially as food for pigs.

Usage examples:

He explains that the native rats ate many kinds of berries, beech mast, and other wholesome foods o…

verb

(with reference to tea) brew or infuse.

Usage examples:

Let the tea mast for a couple of minutes

adjective

Light in colour or shade; containing little colour or pigment.

Usage examples:

Choose pale floral patterns for walls

verb

Become pale in one's face from shock or fear.

Usage examples:

I paled at the thought of what she might say

noun

A wooden stake or post used with others to form a fence.

Usage examples:

Get creative with a picket fence and have diagonal pales nailed to the horizontal boards.

noun

A fence made from pointed wooden or metal posts.

Usage examples:

The post and wire fence at the end of the road needed attention - in the long term, a hedge, wooden…

verb

Become pale in one's face from shock or fear.

Usage examples:

I paled at the thought of what she might say

noun

A fence made from long, thin pieces of wood

Usage examples:

He has just put up a paling around the house.

noun

A fence of wooden stakes or iron railings fixed in the ground, forming an enclosure or defence.

Usage examples:

At this time fortifications consisted mainly of earth banks and wooden palisades

verb

Enclose or provide (a building or place) with a palisade.

Usage examples:

He palisaded the ends of the streets, and made the town a roughly fortified camp

noun

A long row of cliffs (= high area of rock with a steep side)

noun

A person or group of people who stand outside a workplace or other venue as a protest or to try to persuade others not to enter during a strike.

Usage examples:

Forty pickets were arrested

verb

Act as a picket outside (a workplace or other venue).

Usage examples:

Strikers picketed the newspaper's main building

verb

A wooden strip forming part of a fence

noun

A heap of things laid or lying one on top of another.

Usage examples:

He placed the books in a neat pile

verb

Place (things) one on top of the other.

Usage examples:

She piled all the groceries on the counter

verb

Strengthen or support (a structure) with piles.

Usage examples:

An earlier bridge may have been piled

noun

Heavy stakes or posts installed to support the foundations of a superstructure.

Usage examples:

Wooden piling supporting a complex of waterfront buildings

verb

Place (things) one on top of the other.

Usage examples:

She piled all the groceries on the counter

verb

Strengthen or support (a structure) with piles.

Usage examples:

An earlier bridge may have been piled

noun

A solemn promise or undertaking.

Usage examples:

The conference ended with a joint pledge to limit pollution

verb

Commit (a person or organization) by a solemn promise.

Usage examples:

The government pledged itself to deal with environmental problems

noun

A formal promise, or something that is given as a sign that you will keep a promise

Usage examples:

A pledge of friendship, the telethon raised $150,000 in pledges for leukemia research.

noun

A long, slender, rounded piece of wood or metal, typically used with one end placed in the ground as a support for something.

Usage examples:

A tent pole

verb

Another term for perch3 (sense 1 of the noun).

noun

Either of the two locations ( north pole or south pole ) on the surface of the earth (or of a celestial object) which are the northern and southern ends of the axis of rotation.

noun

A long, sturdy piece of timber or metal set upright in the ground and used as a support or marker.

Usage examples:

Follow the blue posts until the track meets a road

verb

Display (a notice) in a public place.

Usage examples:

A curt notice had been posted on the door

adverb

With haste.

Usage examples:

Come now, come post

noun

A pole or beam used as a temporary support or to keep something in position.

Usage examples:

He looked around for a prop to pin the door open

verb

Support or keep in position.

Usage examples:

She propped her chin in the palm of her right hand

noun

A portable object other than furniture or costumes used on the set of a play or film.

Usage examples:

The exhibition features props and costumes from the show's incredible 49-year history

collocation

Put clothing on one's body

phrasal verb

Place a garment, piece of jewellery, etc. on part of one's body.

Usage examples:

Julie had put on a cotton dress

phrasal verb

Cause a device to operate.

Usage examples:

Shall i put the light on?

verb

Strengthen or support (an object or substance), especially with additional material.

Usage examples:

The helmet has been reinforced with a double layer of cork

Strengthen and support

noun

A situation involving exposure to danger.

Usage examples:

Flouting the law was too much of a risk

verb

Expose (someone or something valued) to danger, harm, or loss.

Usage examples:

He risked his life to save his dog

verb

A source of danger

noun

A thin straight bar, especially of wood or metal.

Usage examples:

Concrete walls reinforced with steel rods

noun

A long, thin pole made of wood, metal, or other material

Usage examples:

A fishing/curtain rod

noun

A long, narrow part or section forming the handle of a tool or club, the body of a spear or arrow, or similar.

Usage examples:

The shaft of a golf club

verb

(of light) shine in beams.

Usage examples:

Brilliant sunshine shafted through the skylight

noun

A thin, pointed piece of metal, wood, or another rigid material.

Usage examples:

The spikes dug into the thin material of the bags, and dirt began to leak out.

verb

Impale on or pierce with a sharp point.

Usage examples:

She spiked another oyster

noun

A flower cluster formed of many flower heads attached directly to a long stem.

Usage examples:

This handsome plant has striking blue flowers in a spike on the stem

noun

An upright bar, post, or frame forming a support or barrier.

Usage examples:

There is barely a scrap of bare metal on the stanchions, pillars, posts, railings, and decking ribs.

noun

A fixed vertical bar or pole used as a support for something

Usage examples:

If this stanchion is removed, the stairs will collapse., his 18-yard shot hit the stanchion (= goal…

noun

A vertical wooden post or plank in a building or other structure.

Usage examples:

To support all this, an intricate system of beams and additional staves became necessary

noun

A staff

verb

Remain in the same place.

Usage examples:

You stay here and i'll be back soon

noun

A period of staying somewhere, in particular of living somewhere temporarily as a visitor or guest.

Usage examples:

An overnight stay at a luxury hotel

verb

Secure or steady (a mast) by means of stays.

Usage examples:

We stayed the mast on the starboard side by shifting the halyard

noun

A thin piece of wood that has fallen or been cut off a tree.

Usage examples:

Hayes picked up a fallen stick and twirled it idly between his fingers.

verb

Push a sharp or pointed object into or through (something).

Usage examples:

He stuck his fork into the sausage

verb

A long thin implement resembling a length of wood

noun

A rod or bar forming part of a framework and designed to resist compression.

Usage examples:

A supporting strut

verb

Walk with a stiff, erect, and apparently arrogant or conceited gait.

Usage examples:

Peacocks strut through the grounds

verb

Bear all or part of the weight of; hold up.

Usage examples:

The dome was supported by a hundred white columns

noun

A thing that bears the weight of something or keeps it upright.

Usage examples:

The best support for a camera is a tripod

verb

The act of bearing the weight of or strengthening

verb

Tie (an animal) with a rope or chain so as to restrict its movement.

Usage examples:

The horse had been tethered to a post

noun

A rope or chain with which an animal is tied to restrict its movement.

Usage examples:

Regulations banning neck and girth tethers for sows

noun

A rope, chain, or other device used to attach a person or animal to a fixed object

Usage examples:

Asthma kept him tethered to an oxygen tank.

idiom

Secure with or as if with ropes

phrasal verb

Bind someone so that they cannot move or escape.

Usage examples:

Robbers tied her up and ransacked her home

phrasal verb

Occupy someone to the exclusion of any other activity.

Usage examples:

She would be tied up at the meeting all day

noun

A framework, typically consisting of rafters, posts, and struts, supporting a roof, bridge, or other structure.

Usage examples:

Roof trusses

verb

Tie up the wings and legs of (a chicken or other bird) before cooking.

Usage examples:

Alfred had already trussed and stuffed the geese

noun

A support for a building or bridge, made of wood or steel

Usage examples:

No one knows if the fire damaged the building’s trusses and support beams.

adjective

(of a person) sitting or standing with the back straight.

Usage examples:

An upright posture

adverb

In or into an upright position.

Usage examples:

She was sitting upright in bed

noun

A post or rod fixed vertically, especially as a structural support.

Usage examples:

The stone uprights of the parapet

noun

A risky or daring journey or undertaking.

Usage examples:

Pioneering ventures into little-known waters

verb

Undertake a risky or daring journey or course of action.

Usage examples:

She ventured out into the blizzard

noun

An activity or plan of action, often in business, that involves risk or uncertainty

Usage examples:

His most recent business venture ended in bankruptcy., [ i always + adv/prep ] he wanted to venture…

verb

Risk (a sum of money or valued item) against someone else's on the basis of the outcome of an unpredictable event; bet.

Usage examples:

A total of $770,700 was wagered by fans at other sites on the track

noun

An act of betting a sum of money on the outcome of an unpredictable event.

Usage examples:

They have made a wager on who will win tonight

noun

An agreement to risk money on the unknown result of an event in the hope of winning more money than you have risked, or the amount of money risked; a bet

Usage examples:

[ t ] over $2 million was wagered., [ + that clause ] i would wager that not one person in ten coul…