stake

/steɪk/

//steɪk// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"stake" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“stake” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,631. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,631
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A piece of wood or other material, usually long and slender, pointed at one end so as to be easily driven into the ground as a marker or a support or stay.

Corpus desk

Index EN-stake · stake · English

stake · rank #5,631 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,631
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH southeast

Nearest frequency peer: southeast (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “stake”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “stake” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

stake vs stay
60% similar
stake vs star
60% similar
stake vs stan
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for stake
PropertyValue
Headwordstake
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/steɪk/
Letters5
Frequency rank#5,631
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “stake”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).stakelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “southeast” (#5,630), “stating” (#5,632), “soup” (#5,629). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “stake” is #5,631. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around stake (IPA /steɪk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,631 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for stake, with forms such as "satke", "sstake", and "staek". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "stay", "star", "stan", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English stake, from Old English staca (“pin, tack, stake”), from Proto-West Germanic *stakō, from Proto-Germanic *stakô (“stake”), from Proto-Indo-European *stog-, *steg- (“stake”). Cognate with Scots stak, staik, Saterland Frisian Stak, West Fr… The correct English form is stake, spelled S-T-A-K-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A piece of wood or other material, usually long and slender, pointed at one end so as to be easily driven into the ground as a marker or a support or stay.
  2. 2
    A piece of wood driven in the ground, placed in the middle of the court, that is used as the finishing point after scoring 12 hoops in croquet.
  3. 3
    A stick or similar object (e.g., steel channel or angle stock) inserted upright in a lop, eye, or mortise, at the side or end of a cart, flat car, flatbed trailer, or the like, to prevent goods from falling off; often connected in a grid forming a stakebody.
  4. 4
    The piece of timber to which a person condemned to death was affixed to be burned.
  5. 5
    A share or interest in a business or a given situation.
  6. 6
    That which is laid down as a wager; that which is staked or hazarded; a pledge.
  7. 7
    A small anvil usually furnished with a tang to enter a hole in a bench top, as used by tinsmiths, blacksmiths, etc., for light work, punching hole in or cutting a work piece, or for specific forming techniques etc.
  8. 8
    A territorial division comprising all the Mormons (typically several thousand) in a geographical area.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how stake appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. We have surveyor's stakes at all four corners of this field, to mark exactly its borders.
  2. A sharpened stake strong Dryas found.

Etymology

From Middle English stake, from Old English staca (“pin, tack, stake”), from Proto-West Germanic *stakō, from Proto-Germanic *stakô (“stake”), from Proto-Indo-European *stog-, *steg- (“stake”). Cognate with Scots stak, staik, Saterland Frisian Stak, West Frisian staak, Dutch staak, Low German Stake, Norwegian stake, Spanish estaca.

Synonyms

peg

This word in other languages

estaca(Español)pieu(Français)Pfahl(Deutsch)participação(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • satke
  • sstake
  • staek
  • stakke
  • stkae
  • sttake
  • tsake

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of stake - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

satke2sstake1staek2stakke1stkae2sttake1tsake2
Edit distance from "stake"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "stake"?
"stake" is spelled S-T-A-K-E. The IPA pronunciation is /steɪk/.
What does "stake" mean?
As a noun, "stake" means: A piece of wood or other material, usually long and slender, pointed at one end so as to be easily driven into the ground as a marker or a support or stay.
What words are commonly confused with "stake"?
"stake" is commonly confused with "stay", "star", "stan". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "stake"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stake" is /steɪk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "stake"?
From Middle English stake, from Old English staca (“pin, tack, stake”), from Proto-West Germanic *stakō, from Proto-Germanic *stakô (“stake”), from Proto-Indo-European *stog-, *steg- (“stake”). Cognate with Scots stak, staik, Saterland Frisian Sta... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "stake", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

sends#5,627swift#5,635salad#5,624twins#5,643

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

wallet7 variantsmorris7 variantsaboard7 variantsaccent7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list