I. ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun
Etymology: grub (II) (food) + stake; from the lender's staking or risking the provisions so furnished
1. : supplies or funds furnished to a mining prospector on promise of a share in his discoveries
2. : material assistance (as a gift, loan, advance) provided for a person in difficult circumstances or for the launching of an enterprise or project
the ex-governor promised a … grubstake for the unemployed — Current Biography
needed a grubstake or he wouldn't have taken the job — Ross Santee
meant to leave Cincinnati as soon as he could get a grubstake — Arthur Krock
II. transitive verb
: to provide with a grubstake
it is the public which pays … for the handsome profit to those who have grubstaked the candidates — P.H.Douglas