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

So do your homework and maybe even a little undercover stakeout. —Teja Chekuri, Forbes, 2 Dec. 2024

There are fewer of the ambitious yearslong stakeouts that produced genre-defining classics such as Hoop Dreams, American Movie, and Paris Is Burning. —Lane Brown, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2024

Verb

Police say a good deal of commerce is orchestrated by competing gangs, and a fresh gang tag appeared the other day on a building at Wilshire Boulevard and Alvarado Street, staking out turf. —Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2024

The film shot nearly three years ago and has faced several pounces around the release calendar since staking out an original January 2023 date. —J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 14 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1942, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1951, in the meaning defined at sense 1