stakes
What's being risked
Stakes are what you stand to win or lose.
In gambling, stakes are the money wagered: high-stakes poker, The stakes are $100 per hand.
More broadly, stakes are what's at risk in any venture or conflict: The stakes couldn't be higher—if we fail, the company folds.
Stakes also means pointed posts driven into the ground, from which the gambling sense derives—wagers were once placed on or near a stake marking the finish line.
Stake on uncertainty
- betRisked stake on outcome
- bettingStaking money on outcomes
- antePre-deal poker payment
- potVessel for cooking
odds · chip · bookie · sportsbook · casino · payout · jackpot · raise
Impartial treatment or ownership value
- shareholderEquity owner in corporation
- interestAttention, stake, or fee
- ownershipLegal right of possession
- sharePortion given out
position · holding · investor · capital · venture · buyout · financing · angel
Boundary structure between properties
- postVertical structural beam
- markerSomething that signals location
- claimStatement of ownership or truth
- surveySystematic data collection
territory · land · plot · perimeter · demarcation · picket · peg · homestead
Possibility of harm
- outcomeFinal result of events
- gravityMutual mass attraction
- implicationsSuggested but unspoken meanings
- ramificationsResulting effects or outcomes
jeopardy · cost · price · loss · gain · leverage · accountability · commitment
Multi-round competitive event
- championshipCompetition for top rank
- raceCompetition of speed
- finalsConcluding tests or matches
- playoffsChampionship elimination series
showdown · derby · regatta · sweepstakes · Belmont · Preakness · handicap · purse
Force upon contact
- tensionStretched or strained state
- criticalExpressing disapproval or importance
- pivotalVitally important, deciding
- decisiveQuick to conclude
do-or-die · clutch · thriller · cliffhanger · momentous · life-or-death · make-or-break · high-wire
wager
Stake on uncertainty
pot · odds · chip · bookie · sportsbook · casino · payout · jackpot · raise · call
equity
Impartial treatment or ownership value
- shareholderEquity owner in corporation
- interestAttention, stake, or fee
- ownershipLegal right of possession
share · position · holding · investor · capital · venture · buyout · financing · angel · backer
fence
Boundary structure between properties
- postVertical structural beam
- markerSomething that signals location
- claimStatement of ownership or truth
survey · territory · land · plot · perimeter · demarcation · picket · peg · homestead · prospector
risk
Possibility of harm
- outcomeFinal result of events
- gravityMutual mass attraction
- implicationsSuggested but unspoken meanings
ramifications · jeopardy · cost · price · loss · gain · leverage · accountability · commitment · investment
tournament
Multi-round competitive event
- championshipCompetition for top rank
- raceCompetition of speed
- finalsConcluding tests or matches
playoffs · showdown · derby · regatta · sweepstakes · Belmont · Preakness · handicap · purse · winner-take-all
pressure
Force upon contact
- tensionStretched or strained state
- criticalExpressing disapproval or importance
- pivotalVitally important, deciding
decisive · do-or-die · clutch · thriller · cliffhanger · momentous · life-or-death · make-or-break · high-wire · gambit
wooden
Made from timber
sunlight · coffin · undead · slayer · impale · garlic · hunting · kill · pierce · chest
- competitioncompete, competitor, contender, winner, sports
- actingacting, act, performing, playacting, actor
- pokerblinds, all-in, all in, call, seven-card stud
- plotplot, storyline, subplot, climax, narrative
- plot devicesMacGuffin, red herring, plot twist, flashback, foreshadowing
- plot elementsplot, protagonist, antagonist, main plot, subplot
stakestriviality
Unimportant small matter
insignificance · low stakes · inconsequence · unimportance · pettiness
- at stakeSubject to possible loss
- high stakesSignificant potential for loss
- raise the stakesIncrease what's wagered
- raised the stakesIncreased what's at risk
- raising the stakesIncreasing what's at risk
- wooden stakesSharpened timber posts
mistake, stake, staked, staking, stakeholder, stakeholders, staker, stakers, stake out