stalk

¹ American  

[stawk] / stɔk /

noun

1. the stem or main axis of a plant.

2. any slender supporting or connecting part of a plant, as the petiole of a leaf, the peduncle of a flower, or the funicle of an ovule.

3. a similar structural part of an animal.

4. a stem, shaft, or slender supporting part of anything.

5. Automotive. a slender lever, usually mounted on or near the steering wheel, that is used by the driver to control a signal or function.

   The horn button is on the turn-signal stalk.

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stalk ² American  

[stawk] / stɔk /

verb (used without object)

• stalks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• stalked,
  past participle,  past
• stalking
  present participle

1. to pursue or approach prey, quarry, etc., stealthily.

2. to walk with measured, stiff, or haughty strides.

   He was so angry he stalked away without saying goodbye.

3. to proceed in a steady, deliberate, or sinister manner.

   Famine stalked through the nation.

4. Obsolete. to walk or go stealthily along.

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verb (used with object)

• stalks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• stalked,
  past participle,  past
• stalking
  present participle

1. to pursue (game, a person, etc.) stealthily.

2. to proceed through (an area) in search of prey or quarry.

   to stalk the woods for game.

3. to proceed or spread through in a steady or sinister manner.

   Disease stalked the land.

noun

1. an act or course of stalking quarry, prey, or the like.

   We shot the mountain goat after a five-hour stalk.

2. a slow, stiff stride or gait.

stalk ¹ British  

/ stɔːk /

noun

1. the main stem of a herbaceous plant

2. any of various subsidiary plant stems, such as a leafstalk (petiole) or flower stalk (peduncle)

3. a slender supporting structure in animals such as crinoids and certain protozoans, coelenterates, and barnacles

4. any long slender supporting shaft or column

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stalk ² British  

/ stɔːk /

verb

1. to follow or approach (game, prey, etc) stealthily and quietly

2. to pursue persistently and, sometimes, attack (a person with whom one is obsessed, often a celebrity)

3. to spread over (a place) in a menacing or grim manner

   fever stalked the camp

4. (intr) to walk in a haughty, stiff, or threatening way

   he stalked out in disgust

5. to search or draw (a piece of land) for prey

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noun

1. the act of stalking

2. a stiff or threatening stride

stalk Scientific  

/ stôk /

1. The main stem of a plant.

2. A slender structure that supports a plant part, such as a flower or leaf.

3. A slender supporting structure in certain other organisms, such as the reproductive structure in plasmodial slime molds or the part of a mushroom below the cap.

4. A slender supporting or connecting part of an animal, such as the eyestalk of a lobster.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• stalker
  noun
• stalkable
  adjective
• stalked
  adjective
• stalkless
  adjective
• stalklike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• stalking
  present
• stalked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• stalk
  simple
• stalks
  simple
• have stalked
  perfect
• has stalked
  perfect
• am stalking
  progressive
• are stalking
  progressive
• is stalking
  progressive
• have been stalking
  perfect progressive
• has been stalking
  perfect progressive

Past

• stalked
  simple
• had stalked
  perfect
• was stalking
  progressive
• were stalking
  progressive
• had been stalking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will stalk
  simple
• will have stalked
  perfect
• will be stalking
  progressive
• will have been stalking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of stalk¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English stalk(e), apparently equivalent to Old English stal(u) “stave” + -k diminutive suffix; akin to Norwegian dialect stalk, Swedish stjelk, Danish stilk

Origin of stalk²

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English verb stalken, representing the base of Old English bestealcian “to move stealthily”; akin to steal

Explanation

A stalk is a long, vertical stem or connecting part of a plant. When you eat celery, do you like the inner stalks, which are paler and more tender, or the tough outer ones? As a verb, stalk means to walk stiffly or angrily. If someone insults you, you might stalk from the room and refuse to listen to another word. When hunting, an animal stalks its prey — it follows its quarry stealthily until it's time to pounce. Similarly, if a person stalks you, they follow and watch you. It is very threatening and frightening to the one who is being stalked, and the police should be called.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stalk stalks stalked stalking

The study reaffirms fears that many wolves are becoming dependent on cattle as a primary food source as it is easier to feed on slow-moving, fatty cows than stalk the state’s dwindling deer population.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

The city used an economic office to stalk dissidents in the U.K.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026

These organisms had U-shaped bodies and were anchored to the seafloor by a stalk.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 6, 2026

The guys realize they’re in a different era primarily through shifts in 21st-century culture: Bill Cosby is beloved, cinema audiences laugh freely at gay jokes, teenage goths stalk the streets of Toronto.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026

As I stalk past the gate guards, I fervently hope not to run into my mother.

From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir

It looks like charcoal, but the black briquettes are actually made from plant waste: millet and sesame stalks, palm fronds and cobs.

From Barron's ● Apr. 24, 2026

Many of the fossils display unusual combinations of features, such as tentacles, stalks, attachment discs, and feeding structures that could be turned inside out.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 6, 2026

It attracted bankers, tourists and street vendors, who could stroll through the stalks before they were harvested.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 15, 2026

"I was so excited to bring her back, that was her little patch of flowers, so to see them cut off at the stalks is such an own goal by the council."

From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026

Camille turns in a huff and stalks across the field toward a group of older teenagers.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was stalked by a crowd that carried red flags, a symbol of revenge, and called him dishonorable as he was pelted with an unknown object.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

Helping his brother-in-law film a documentary, Thapar watched as their subject stalked a herd of sambar deer in one of the many Ranthambore lakes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026

When Ben Jones made his move on 28-1 shot Jordans around the final bend, Townend stalked the leaders on I Am Maximus and finally burst for the front near the famous Aintree elbow.

From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026

Guardiola grew frustrated with City's failure to kill off Newcastle, urging his players to "keep the ball better" as he stalked the touchline.

From Barron's ● Feb. 21, 2026

The magistrate stalked toward Mama and Anya, waving an accusatory finger at them.

From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

Critics say they violate privacy rights, citing incidents where officers have allegedly used Flock’s cameras for stalking.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Flock cameras help police solve crimes, but cases of officers abusing their access to the technology for stalking raise concerns about privacy violations.

From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2026

Yet here I am, stalking him on Instagram, up all hours flicking through interviews and career highlight clips.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

Mangione is also charged in federal court with two counts of interstate stalking and risks the same punishment.

From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026

I was too worked up to sleep, but not bored enough to do homework, so I killed an hour on the Internet, which is how I ended up stalking Marcus’s SnowFlake page.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson

Related Words

• ambush
• chase
• haunt
• hunt
• pursue
• stride