at stake

Idioms  

1. At risk to be won or lost, as in We have a great deal at stake in this transaction. This phrase uses stake in the sense of something that is wagered. Shakespeare used it in Troilus and Cressida (3:3): “I see my reputation is at stake.” [Late 1500s]

---

Example Sentences

At the start of his trip, he warned that the world should not give into "a heightened level of conflict on the global level", adding that "the future of humanity is at stake".

From BBC

That might be fine if people’s lives weren’t at stake.

From Salon

“What is at stake here is freedom of speech,” said Karl Kloppenborg, a board member of the Internet Society, a nonprofit that supports and promotes the development of the internet.

From The Wall Street Journal

With that kind of money at stake, he said it wouldn’t be hard to find willing men to keep running the boats, even with the threat of military strikes.

From The Wall Street Journal

However, there is no fundamental principle at stake, no size that is the "right" size for the tax free personal allowance.

From BBC