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Glite Dictionary
💰 A funding share 💰 To fund for profit
to grubstake

to grubstake

1 9.9
To give money or equipment to someone in return for a share of future profits
  • verb
  • /ˈɡrʌbˌsteɪk/
  • Archaic
: financiar
  • To start his new business, she grubstaked him with the necessary funds, expecting a share of the revenues.

Examples

  • He decided to grubstake a young miner by providing her with tools and funds in exchange for a cut of the gold she finds.

  • Why do you suppose I grubstaked you for, eh?

    The Big Trail (1930)

  • A year ago I grubstaked an old prospector.

    The Villain (1979)

  • The investor chose to grubstake the startup in return for a portion of the company's future profits.

How Much Support

to bankroll
28 6.3
to invest
883 3.5
to fund
597 3.0
to grubstake
  • Archaic
1 9.9
to lend
319 1.0
to back
848 1.0

Surface Forms

grubstake infinitive
grubstaked past
grubstaked past participle
grubstaking present participle
grubstakes third person singular

Morphology

grubstake = grubstake (opaque) = grub + stake

The verb is a conversion from the noun 'grubstake', but the specialized mining/prospecting meaning is not predictable from the component words for an average learner.

Etymology

Grubstake comes from old mining days, when people would give a prospector grub 'food' and a stake 'money or support' so they could try to find gold. So to grubstake someone now is to give money or supplies in return for a share of any future profit.