at stake
Hanging in balance
At stake describes what stands to be won or lost depending on an outcome.
The phrase comes from gambling, where stakes are placed at risk.
In broader use, it marks what hangs in the balance: Millions of dollars are at stake, Her reputation is at stake, With so much at stake, we can't afford mistakes.
What's at stake frames the consequences of success or failure.
- jeopardyRisk of harm
- consequenceResult of an action
- dangerExposure to harm
- perilSerious threat of harm
- hanging by a threadNearly failing or ending
chance · precariousness · riding · vulnerability · exposure · uncertainty · make or break · do or die · on the line · skin in the game · dispute · gamble · all bets are off · up for grabs · life and death · moment of truth · in the balance · risk
- phrasesnoun phrases, noun phrase, verb phrase, prepositional phrase, prepositional phrases
- risk phrasestake a chance, take a gamble, risk it all, go for broke, roll the dice
at stakesafe
Free from peril
secure · guaranteed · protected · out of danger · assured
at stakeirrelevant
Not pertinent
uninvolved · unaffected · off the table · beside the point · immaterial