stake out

Idioms and Phrases

Keep an area or person under police surveillance; also, assign someone to conduct such a surveillance. For example, They staked out the house , or He was staked out in the alley, watching for drug dealers . [c. 1940]

Example Sentences

Alito and Thomas do not appear to make much effort to win over their colleagues when they stake out fringe positions.

From Slate

He also declined to clarify whether he believed climate change as a hoax or stake out a position on abortion, though he bragged about his role in overturning Roe v.

From Salon

“An angry, rambling Donald Trump couldn’t focus, had to be repeatedly reminded of the topic at hand, and whenever he did stake out a position, it was so extreme that no Americans would want it,” Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson Joseph Costello said in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times

Kamala Harris is leaning into a little-known aspect of her biography - the fact that she is a gun owner - to stake out ground on the issue of firearms control.

From BBC

His longest stake out was a nine-hour watch for a black-crowned night heron near Wakefield, which he finally saw for three or four seconds.

From BBC

Related Words

• care
• control
• examination
• inspection
• scrutiny
• supervision
• vigilance
• wiretap