stalk

¹

[stawk]

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.

stalk

²

[stawk]

verb (used without object)

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.

verb (used with object)

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

/ 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

stalk

²

/ 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

noun

1. the act of stalking

2. a stiff or threatening stride

stalk

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.

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of stalk¹

C14: probably a diminutive formed from Old English stalu upright piece of wood; related to Old Frisian staal handle

Origin of stalk²

Old English bestealcian to walk stealthily; related to Middle Low German stolkeren , Danish stalke

Example Sentences

If you remember the Predator stalking humans in the greatest sci-fi action film in history, you know how these cameras work.

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Afghanistan’s internecine bloodshed has an epiphanic effect on the author: “When death stalks every door,” she writes in a burst of originality, “the only antidote is to live.”

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As the growing season progresses, the plant puffs itself into a roughly spherical shape, until the first frosts, when it snaps off its stalk and waits to be blown across the landscape.

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Like prized athletes, the students describe being courted or stalked, depending upon whom you ask.

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In the charged political climate of the 1930s, Boud becomes obsessed with fascism, goes to Germany and stalks Hitler until she is admitted to his inner circle.

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Related Words

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