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• stem
  stem

  noun

  the ascending axis of a plant, whether above or below ground, which ordinarily grows in an opposite direction to the root or descending axis.
• STEM
  STEM

  noun

  science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, considered as a group of academic or career fields (often used attributively).
• Stem
  Stem

  noun

  the South African national anthem until 1991, when part of it was incorporated into the current anthem, Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika See Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika

stem

¹ American  

[stem] / stɛm /

noun

1. the ascending axis of a plant, whether above or below ground, which ordinarily grows in an opposite direction to the root or descending axis.

2. the stalk that supports a leaf, flower, or fruit.

3. the main body of that portion of a tree, shrub, or other plant which is above ground; trunk; stalk.

4. a cut flower.

   We bought roses at the flower market for 50¢ a stem.

5. a petiole; peduncle; pedicel.

6. a stalk of bananas.

7. something resembling or suggesting a leaf or flower stalk.

8. a long, slender part.

   the stem of a tobacco pipe.

9. the slender, vertical part of a goblet, wineglass, etc., between the bowl and the base.

10. Informal. a drinking glass having a stem.

11. the handle of a spoon.

12. a projection from the rim of a watch, having on its end a knob for winding the watch.

13. the circular rod in some locks about which the key fits and rotates.

14. the rod or spindle by which a valve is operated from outside.

15. the stock or line of descent of a family; ancestry or pedigree.

16. Grammar. the underlying form, often consisting of a root plus an affix, to which the inflectional endings of a word are added, as tend-, the stem in Latin tendere “to stretch,” the root of which is ten-.

17. Music. the vertical line forming part of a note.

18. Slang. stems, the legs of a human being.

19. the main or relatively thick stroke of a letter in printing.

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verb (used with object)

stemmed, stemming

1. to remove the stem from (a leaf, fruit, etc.).

   Stem the cherries before cooking.

verb (used without object)

stemmed, stemming

1. to arise or originate.

   This project stems from last week's lecture.

stem ² American  

[stem] / stɛm /

verb (used with object)

stemmed, stemming

1. to stop, check, or restrain.

2. to dam up; stop the flow of (a stream, river, or the like).

3. to tamp, plug, or make tight, as a hole or joint.

4. Skiing. to maneuver (a ski or skis) in executing a stem.

5. to stanch (bleeding).

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verb (used without object)

stemmed, stemming

1. Skiing. to execute a stem.

noun

1. Skiing. the act or instance of a skier pushing the heel of one or both skis outward so that the heels are far apart, as in making certain turns or slowing down.

stem ³ American  

[stem] / stɛm /

verb (used with object)

stemmed, stemming

1. to make headway against (a tide, current, gale, etc.).

2. to make progress against (any opposition).

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stem ⁴ American  

[stem] / stɛm /

noun

Nautical.

1. (at the bow of a vessel) an upright into which the side timbers or plates are jointed.

2. the forward part of a vessel (often opposed tostern ).

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stem ⁵ American  

[stem] / stɛm /

verb (used with object)

stemmed, stemming

1. to arrange the loading of (a merchant vessel) within a specified time.

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STEM ⁶ American  

[stem] / stɛm /

noun

1. science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, considered as a group of academic or career fields (often used attributively).

   degree programs in STEM disciplines;

   teaching STEM in high school.

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stem ¹ British  

/ stɛm /

verb

1. (tr) to restrain or stop (the flow of something) by or as if by damming up

2. (tr) to pack tightly or stop up

3. skiing to manoeuvre (a ski or skis), as in performing a stem

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noun

1. skiing a technique in which the heel of one ski or both skis is forced outwards from the direction of movement in order to slow down or turn

stem ² British  

/ stɛm /

noun

1. the main axis of a plant, which bears the leaves, axillary buds, and flowers and contains a hollow cylinder of vascular tissue

2. any similar subsidiary structure in such plants that bears a flower, fruit, or leaf

3. a corresponding structure in algae and fungi

4. any long slender part, such as the hollow part of a tobacco pipe that lies between the bit and the bowl, or the support between the base and the bowl of a wineglass, goblet, etc

5. a banana stalk with several bunches attached

6. the main line of descent or branch of a family

7. a round pin in some locks on which a socket in the end of a key fits and about which it rotates

8. any projecting feature of a component: a shank or cylindrical pin or rod, such as the pin that carries the winding knob on a watch

9. linguistics the form of a word that remains after removal of all inflectional affixes; the root of a word, esp as occurring together with a thematic element Compare root 1

10. the main, usually vertical, stroke of a letter or of a musical note such as a minim

11. electronics the tubular glass section projecting from the base of a light bulb or electronic valve, on which the filament or electrodes are mounted

12. 1. the main upright timber or structure at the bow of a vessel

    2. the very forward end of a vessel (esp in the phrase from stem to stern )

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verb

1. to be derived; originate

   the instability stems from the war

2. (tr) to make headway against (a tide, wind, etc)

3. (tr) to remove or disengage the stem or stems from

4. (tr) to supply (something) with a stem or stems

Stem ³ British  

/ stɛm /

noun

1. the South African national anthem until 1991, when part of it was incorporated into the current anthem, Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika See Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika

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stem Scientific  

/ stĕm /

1. The main, often long or slender part of a plant that usually grows upward above the ground and supports other parts, such as branches and leaves. Plants have evolved a number of tissue arrangements in the stem. Seedless vascular plants (such as mosses and ferns) have primary vascular tissue in an inner core, a cylindrical ring, or individual strands scattered amid the ground tissue. In eudicots, magnoliids, and conifers, the stem develops a continuous cylindrical layer or a ring of separate bundles of vascular tissue (including secondary vascular tissue) embedded in the ground tissue. In monocots and some herbaceous eudicots, individual strands of primary vascular tissue are scattered in the ground tissue.

2. A slender stalk supporting or connecting another plant part, such as a leaf or flower.

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stem Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing stem

• from soup to nuts (stem to stern)

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Other Word Forms

• stemmer
  noun
• stemless
  adjective
• stemlike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of stem¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English stem(me), Old English stemn, stefn “stem (of a plant or ship)”; from Germanic stamniz “stem, tree trunk” (equivalent to stə-, a variant of the root stā- “to stand, place” + -mn-, noun suffix); akin to Old Norse stafn “stem of a ship,” Old Saxon stamm, Old High German stam “stem, tribe,” Greek stámnos “large (standing) jar”; cf. stamnos ( def. ), stand

Origin of stem²

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English stemmen, from Old Norse stemma “to dam” or Middle Low German stemmen

Origin of stem³

First recorded in 1585–95; verb use of stem ⁴: stem ¹ ( def. )

Origin of stem⁴

First recorded before 900; continuing Old English stefn, stemn “end-timber,” Middle English stampne, stamyn(e), apparently from the Old Norse cognate stamn, stafn in the same sense; see origin at stem ¹ ( def. )

Origin of stem⁵

First recorded in 1895–1900; variant of obsolete steven “to direct one's course,” from Old Norse stefna “to sail directly, aim,” derivative of stafn stem ⁴; stem ¹ ( def. )

Origin of STEM⁶

First recorded in 1965–70

Explanation

A stem is a plant's stalk, and it's also a verb meaning "grow out of." So roses have stems, and your idea to give roses to your mom for her birthday stems from her love of flowers. A stem can be the central root of a word, the supporting structure of a plant, or the thin, cylindrical part of a glass goblet. When one thing stems from something else, it originates or begins growing there: "His vegetarianism stems from his love of animals." An older meaning of the verb is "stop the flow of something," as in "Stem your nosebleed with this tissue!" or "Some people think streetlights will stem the graffiti on that street."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stem STEM Stem stemmed stemming

Random mutations gradually accumulate in blood stem cells as people age.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

Flock Safety is introducing new guardrails for its AI-enabled license-plate cameras to stem public backlash and lost business over privacy concerns, Victoria Albert writes for the Journal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Like other producers, Netflix has benefited from improvements to California’s tax incentive program intended to stem so-called runaway production, though Bajaria said the program is not as “comprehensive” as it needs to be.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

The charges stem from last July, when Hilliard was administrator of the university's Nike Elite program and officials notified the internal audit department about concerns with Hilliard.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

Curious, Celia picks a frosted peony from its branch, the stem breaking easily.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

Most speakers were science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, professors who urged the board to bring back the SAT and ACT.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

Why only math and STEM? they have asked—the situation in English is even worse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026

"Findings from my research showed that impostorism predicted poorer overall mental health, greater burnout, and increased consideration of dropout among graduate women in STEM," she said.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 5, 2026

Kinsey also pioneered complex surveying and interviewing methods that are now widely applied throughout STEM.

From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2025

I wrote STEM, the cutwater of the ship, the coulter as it were—the head of her, not the tail, as the devil would have it.

From Tom Cringle's Log by Michael Scott

But in August 2013, a group of researchers, led by Irving Weissman of the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at Stanford University, published a paper questioning the legitimacy of Ratajczak’s claim.

From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026

More than 9.4m people work in Stem across the UK but women represent 25% of this workforce, according to Women in Tech.

From BBC ● Mar. 8, 2026

Like Stem, he has had to raise prices, lifting them by 30 percent over the past year.

From Barron's ● Feb. 15, 2026

Stem cells are special cells that can change into other blood cells to be used to treat many different cancers, as well as immune deficiencies and genetic disorders, according to the NHS.

From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2026

The girl who stared back had the same heart-shaped face, the same slightly crooked smile, the same brown hair, the same gray eyes as Hannah Stem of New Rochelle, New York, in America.

From "The Devil's Arithmetic" by Jane Yolen

The case stemmed from a broader legal dispute over the renaming of the cultural institution, which US law designates as a memorial to President John F Kennedy.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

The hearing stemmed from a petition animal services had filed that same month against the dog’s owners, Claire M. Birgy and Erick Krasnoff, and cited four separate and unprovoked biting incidents dating back to 2024.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Most of Donald Trump’s success in politics has stemmed from his reputation as a savvy dealmaker.

From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026

The move stemmed from low use and a desire to avoid contributing to the AI problem, according to Roth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Perhaps the anxiety stemmed from a fear of failure or maybe even the perceived catastrophic consequences of not meeting my own expectations.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

The city is still facing lawsuits stemming from the 2020 protests over the police killing of George Floyd.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

"The sediment is home to 'gourmet' bacteria that apparently prefer fresh carbon stemming from, for example, more recent algal remains over the 'old' carbon from permafrost deposits," explains Gesine Mollenhauer.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026

While the central bank moved faster than the Federal Reserve or the Bank of England to tame inflation, it has noted little evidence so far of second-round price effects stemming from the energy crisis.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

But there are several different efforts racing to develop a vaccine for the previously rare strain in the hope of stemming the escalating outbreak.

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

He shook his head suddenly, violendy, and remembered the old man again, coming bareheaded along the hill, stemming the retreat.

From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara

Related Words

• contain
• curb
• hinder
• resist
• restrain
• withstand