grubstake

Thân thiện

The prospector used a grubstake to buy supplies for his search.

Definition

1. Noun:

   • Funds provided to support a prospector or entrepreneur: A grubstake is money or supplies advanced to someone, typically a prospector searching for minerals or someone starting a business, in exchange for a promised share of any future profits.

2. Verb:

   • To supply with funds in return for a share of profits: To grubstake someone means to provide them with the necessary funds or resources to begin an enterprise, with the agreement that you will receive a portion of the profits if it succeeds.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The old miner needed a grubstake to buy equipment for his new claim.
  • She provided the grubstake for her friend's startup company.

• Verb:

  • The investor agreed to grubstake the young geologist's expedition.
  • They grubstaked the venture in return for a 20% stake in the company.

Advanced Usage

• Historical Context: The term originates from the mining camps of the American frontier, where "grub" meant food. A stake was an advance of supplies, not just money.
  • In the 19th century, a storekeeper might grubstake a prospector with a shovel, beans, and bacon.

Variants and Related Words

• Stake (noun/verb): A share or interest in a business venture, or the act of providing resources for such a venture. While similar, a "stake" is a broader financial term, whereas a specifically implies funding for the initial, risky phase.
• Venture capital (noun): Money provided by investors to startup firms with long-term growth potential. This is a modern, institutional form of what was historically a .

Synonyms

• Noun: Advance, backing, seed money, startup capital.
• Verb: Finance, fund, back, bankroll, subsidize.

Related Phrases

• To have a stake in something: To have a share or interest in the success of an enterprise.
  • By providing the grubstake, he had a significant stake in the mine's output.

Học thuật

Noun

1. funds advanced to a prospector or to someone starting a business in return for a share of the profits

Verb

1. supply with funds in return for a promised share of profits