stem Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed
    root word; radical; theme; base; root.
    • thematic vowels are part of the stem
  2. noun a slender or elongated structure that supports a plant or fungus or a plant part or plant organ
    stalk.
  3. noun cylinder forming a long narrow part of something
    shank.
  4. noun the tube of a tobacco pipe
  5. noun front part of a vessel or aircraft
    prow; fore; bow.
    • he pointed the bow of the boat toward the finish line
  6. noun a turn made in skiing; the back of one ski is forced outward and the other ski is brought parallel to it
    stem turn.
  7. verb grow out of, have roots in, originate in
    • The increase in the national debt stems from the last war
  8. verb cause to point inward
    • stem your skis
  9. verb stop the flow of a liquid
    staunch; stanch; halt.
    • staunch the blood flow
    • stem the tide
  10. verb remove the stem from
    • for automatic natural language processing, the words must be stemmed

WordNet

Stem, Steem intransitive verb (Also<
  • Stem
  • Steem
)
Definitions
  1. To gleam. Obs.
    His head bald, that shone as any glass, . . . [And] stemed as a furnace of a leed [caldron]. Chaucer.
Stem, Steem noun (Also<
  • Stem
  • Steem
)
Definitions
  1. A gleam of light; flame. Obs.
Stem noun
Etymology
AS. stemn, stefn, stæfn; akin to OS. stamn the stem of a ship, D. stam stem, steven stem of a ship, G. stamm stem, steven stem of a ship, Icel. stafn, stamn, stem of a ship, stofn, stomn, stem, Sw. stam a tree trunk, Dan. stamme. Cf. Staff, Stand.
Definitions
  1. The principal body of a tree, shrub, or plant, of any kind; the main stock; the part which supports the branches or the head or top.
    After they are shot up thirty feet in length, they spread a very large top, having no bough nor twig in the trunk or the stem. Sir W. Raleigh.
    The lowering spring, with lavish rain, Beats down the slender stem and breaded grain. Dryden.
  2. A little branch which connects a fruit, flower, or leaf with a main branch; a peduncle, pedicel, or petiole; as, the stem of an apple or a cherry.
  3. The stock of a family; a race or generation of progenitors. "All that are of noble stem." Milton.
    While I do pray, learn here thy stem And true descent. Herbert.
  4. A branch of a family.
    This is a stem Of that victorious stock. Shak.
  5. (Naut.) A curved piece of timber to which the two sides of a ship are united at the fore end. The lower end of it is scarfed to the keel, and the bowsprit rests upon its upper end. Hence, the forward part of a vessel; the bow.
  6. Fig.: An advanced or leading position; the lookout.
    Wolsey sat at the stem more than twenty years. Fuller.
  7. Anything resembling a stem or stalk; as, the stem of a tobacco pipe; the stem of a watch case, or that part to which the ring, by which it is suspended, is attached.
  8. (Bot.) That part of a plant which bears leaves, or rudiments of leaves, whether rising above ground or wholly subterranean.
  9. (Zoöl.) (a) The entire central axis of a feather. (b) The basal portion of the body of one of the Pennatulacea, or of a gorgonian.
  10. (Mus.) The short perpendicular line added to the body of a note; the tail of a crotchet, quaver, semiquaver, etc.
  11. (Gram.) The part of an inflected word which remains unchanged (except by euphonic variations) throughout a given inflection; theme; base.
Stem transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To remove the stem or stems from; as, to stem cherries; to remove the stem and its appendages (ribs and veins) from; as, to stem tobacco leaves.
  2. To ram, as clay, into a blasting hole.
Stem transitive verb
Etymology
Either from stem, n., or akin to stammer; cf. G. stemmen to press against.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Stemmed ; present participle & verbal noun Stemming
Definitions
  1. To oppose or cut with, or as with, the stem of a vessel; to resist, or make progress against; to stop or check the flow of, as a current. "An argosy to stem the waves." Shak.
    [They] stem the flood with their erected breasts. Denham.
    Stemmed the wild torrent of a barbarous age. Pope.
Stem intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To move forward against an obstacle, as a vessel against a current.
    Stemming nightly toward the pole. Milton.

Webster 1913