grubstake

[ gruhb-steyk ]
See synonyms for: grubstakegrubstaker on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. provisions, gear, etc., furnished to a prospector on condition of participating in the profits of any discoveries.

  2. money or other assistance furnished at a time of need or of starting an enterprise.

verb (used with object),grub·staked, grub·stak·ing.
  1. to furnish with a grubstake: I grubstaked him to two mules and supplies enough for five months.

Origin of grubstake

1
An Americanism dating back to 1860–65; grub + stake2

Other words from grubstake

  • grubstaker, noun

Words Nearby grubstake

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use grubstake in a sentence

  • The others would bring enough for a winter grubstake, and would prolong their freedom and their independence just that much.

    Cabin Fever | B. M. Bower
  • And the caballos need a grubstake for the winter worse than we do, because they can't eat meat.

    North of Fifty-Three | Bertrand W. Sinclair
  • On the strength of that I doubles my grubstake, and he no sooner gets his hands on the two sawbucks than he starts for the street.

    Odd Numbers | Sewell Ford
  • Half an hour afterward he came to the house with his parfleches, and asked me to put him up a couple of weeks' grubstake.

    Desert Conquest | A. M. Chisholm
  • But that project demanded a substantial grubstake, and other matters of moment were taking his attention at the time.

    When the West Was Young | Frederick R. Bechdolt

British Dictionary definitions for grubstake

grubstake

/ (ˈɡrʌbˌsteɪk) /


noun
  1. US and Canadian informal supplies provided for a prospector on the condition that the donor has a stake in any finds

verb(tr)
  1. US informal to furnish with such supplies

  2. mainly US and Canadian to supply (a person) with a stake in a gambling game

Derived forms of grubstake

  • grubstaker, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012