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

And recent reporting by the Washington Post uncovered at least 50 instances nationwide in which law enforcement officials were accused of misusing their access to the cameras, largely to stalk former romantic partners or citizens.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

“It’s a zombie loan that should be dead, but it continues to stalk my wife and I every month demanding to be paid.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

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

From Science Daily ● Apr. 6, 2026

This work requires stealth and sleepless nights to stalk poachers in the dark.

From BBC ● Dec. 28, 2025

Everywhere you look is life; even the little ball of spit on the weed stalk, if you poke it apart, has a green worm inside it.

From "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White

These ancient relatives of starfish looked somewhat like flowers growing on stalks beneath the sea.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026

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

"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

A lonely coyote stalks the barren ground around oil pump jacks; a dead deer, its eye milky white, lies on a fern-like blanket of boughs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026

Here, there, I add green to signify shoots, new stalks, branches slowly, ever so slowly becoming baby trees.

From "Paradise on Fire" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

In New York, where the firm is located, people are only eligible for those if they are being stalked by a partner or ex-partner.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 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

Ben Jones made his move on Jordans, a 28-1 shot, around the final bend, but Paul Townend stalked the leading pack on I Am Maximus and finally made his burst for the front.

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

Black Star shook the snow out of his eyes, got up, and stalked the bull again.

From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell

In recent days, depending largely on what your algorithm serves up, you may be seeing nearly as many people in Cat in the Hat costumes dancing to Beyonce as those stalking the streets.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

Galperin is similarly skeptical of any potential features that could meaningfully curb stalking: “It is not salvageable technology because of just the sheer scale of propensity to abuse.”

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 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

Luigi Mangione who is accused of killing a health insurance boss in Manhattan may plead guilty to stalking charges in his federal case, The New York Times reported Thursday.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

He smacked his lips, then glided toward the table like a hunter stalking his prey.

From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon

Related Words

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