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

“Please don’t stalk me,” he added, just before he broke into a tap dance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

Rhode Island’s Morticia, named for the Addams Family matriarch, spent much of its life as a single leaf stalk with multiple leaflets before going dormant, leaving what looked like a big pot of dirt.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

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

From Science Daily ● Apr. 6, 2026

"Wilder is going to be coming on strong early, but I expect Derek to weather the storm, stalk his man down and finish it in big style in the 12th round."

From BBC ● Apr. 4, 2026

What use can would-be farmers make of a ton of wheat grains on the stalk, if they have not first figured out how to harvest, husk, and store them?

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Unlike most land snails, their eyes are positioned along the sides of the head rather than at the tips of eye stalks.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 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

Aliyu Abdullahi Isa, a 25-year-old Fulani herder, knows the names of all the 20 white cattle grazing on the remains of dry stalks of maize.

From BBC ● Mar. 21, 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 skirted along the grassy bank, watching the water bubble between the stalks of grass, a sure sign that the fiddler crabs were scrabbling around just out of sight.

From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce

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

“Justice has been served against two agitators who stalked a federal employee, livestreamed it on social media, and traumatized both the victim and his family,” First Asst.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2026

Team owner Lawrence Stroll looked like the bottom had fallen out of his world as he stalked the paddock in Bahrain, his face betraying a combination of anger and despair.

From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026

The bird stalked fearlessly up and down, uttering the occasional harsh ‘cark!’

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

He did some "company stalking" to learn more about the organisation itself so he didn't go into it "completely blind".

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

The Chicago rapper, whose given name is Durk Banks, was found not guilty of conspiracy, stalking resulting in death and murder for hire.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026

Harry has long blamed the British media for stalking his mother, Princess Diana of Wales, who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997 while being pursued by paparazzi.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

The reports include officers of all genders, but many cases involve a uniformed man stalking a civilian woman — or the people close to her.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

Unfazed, she turned around and began stalking the aisles, indiscriminately pulling candy bars and bags of chips off the shelves.

From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss

Related Words

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