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

3

: to claim as one's own

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

In 2023, a forty-eight-year-old El Paso resident was taking medicine to her grandmother when she was arrested by state troopers on a stakeout, who had mistaken her for a smuggler. —Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025

The detectives assigned to the stakeouts arrested three persons Friday night on charges of robbery and kidnapping. —The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, arkansasonline.com, 2 Mar. 2025

Verb

For Paloma, curating her father’s artworks is something of a homecoming, after years of staking out an independent career as a jewelry designer and stepping outside the shadow of his legacy. —Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 May 2025

The Boss has been spotted staking out highways, train tracks and post-wildfire zones flush with berries. —Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 12 Apr. 2025

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