ˈstake-out colloq. (orig. U.S.).
Also as one word.
[f. vbl. phr. to stake out: see stake v.1 8.]
An act or period of surveillance of a place by police or investigative agents. Also transf. and attrib.
| 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §499/2 Stake-out, a surrounding of a criminal retreat to spy upon or prevent the escape of criminals. 1943 R. Chandler Lady in Lake (1944) xl. 208 Somebody stood behind that green curtain..as silently as only a cop on a stake-out knows how to stand. 1955 Sun (Baltimore) (b ed.) 11 Jan. 26/8 Bergen was arrested..by..rookie policemen who were part of an extensive stakeout in the area which had been set up to trap the person or persons responsible for the large number of burglaries. 1960 Washington Post 15 Jan. a12 The success of the police in these instances has been largely due to the ‘stake-out’ system. 1966 J. Gardner Amber Nine viii. 95 He had enjoyed that time as stake-out man at London Central: lurking, watching (and watching for) people. 1972 New Yorker 16 Jan. 27/1 A group of agents..who were conducting a stakeout of a house in suburban Wilmette. 1979 Daily Tel. 19 Sept 36/5 Father Frederick Linale..said police asked him last week if they could use the mission on a ‘stake out’. 1983 Times 29 Jan. 6/8 President Reagan's impromptu visit to a Boston Irish pub for a quick beer broke up a stake-out by armed FBI agents. |