stakeout
stakeout Lexical Profile
stakeout Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The covert, continuous surveillance of a specific building, area, or person, typically conducted by law enforcement officers or private investigators waiting to observe illegal activity or make an arrest.
"The detectives drank lukewarm coffee in an unmarked van during their all-night stakeout of the warehouse."
A location or post where covert surveillance is being conducted.
"The sergeant radioed the officers to remain at their stakeout until the relief shift arrived."
Word Nuance & Usage
The one-word closed compound 'stakeout' functions as a noun (or attributive modifier, as in 'stakeout team'), whereas the two-word open form 'stake out' is the phrasal verb (e.g., 'The detectives plan to stake out the warehouse').
• Rhymes for stakeout
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in mid-20th-century American English from the phrasal verb 'stake out', which originally referred to driving wooden stakes into the ground to mark the boundaries of a land claim on the frontier before shifting to police slang for stationing officers around a location.