stake out a claim
stake out a claim
To assert one's ownership of or right to something. My great-grandfather staked out a claim to this land over 100 years ago. You can't have this cookie because someone else already staked out a claim on it. Settlers arrived in droves looking to stake out a claim in the fertile new lands.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.