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

An old-school stakeout On a quiet, warm February morning on Ferguson Road in East Dallas, the last police officers are moving into position. —Riley Robinson, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 May 2024

For all the new emphasis on light-footprint policing and community partnerships, today’s operation is an old-fashioned stakeout. —Riley Robinson, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 May 2024

Verb

The filmmaker goes to creative lengths to unmask Joiner, including staking out his building in ghillie suits with Johnson. —Jordan Moreau, Variety, 21 June 2024

Indeed, Latimer is less likely to marginalize himself by staking out positions on the party’s far left fringes, a habit of Bowman’s. —New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 14 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1942, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1951, in the meaning defined at sense 1