Definition of "stakeholder" [stake•hold•er]

• One who holds the bets in a game or contest. (noun)
• One who has a share or an interest, as in an enterprise. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "You and I understand the term stakeholder, but to someone running their own copywriting business, they could conjure of images of Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
• "Nowhere does the term stakeholder HAVE to mean "reside" -- it's LIVE, WORK, OWN PROPERTY, and the city attorney has declared YOU can't determine how much WORK makes one qualified."
• "Freeman used the term stakeholder analysis to remind management that it was in the long-term interests of the company to pay attention to the interests of those who have an impact on or are impacted by the activities of the company."