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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

Investors continued to sell US bonds on Thursday despite efforts by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to stem concerns over debt and inflation, according to the Financial Times.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

Chacin said the expanded police presence could help stem violence, but that tackling organized crime required, above all, following the money -- investigating how the proceeds are laundered and who is benefitting most.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

The benefits stem in part from the total net reduction of 10,000 positions, also at the high-end of the company’s previously communicated range.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

Kennedy says that this shift in tone didn’t stem from her personal feelings but from the whistleblowers and the families who lost loved ones.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

The Centipede rushed over to the stem of the peach and took the silk string in his teeth and bit through it with one snap of his jaws.

From "James and the Giant Peach" by Roald Dahl

Participants choose between three types of programming: STEM, business fundamentals and a humanities course.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

He is hoping his college applications show admissions officers who he is—and land him at a top school for STEM.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 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

While she has noticed more women studying Stem subjects, figures from Stem Women, external suggest the number working in those fields has risen only gradually.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

Stem cell therapies for type 1 diabetes are already being tested in clinical trials, but they face several hurdles.

From Science Daily ● May 6, 2026

In an article in the journal Cell Stem Cell, one of the leading voices in stem cell research, George Daley, gave a damning verdict on the work attempting to prove the existence of VSELs.

From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026

"They will only spend but so much on a cut of beef, especially when you have imported meats that you can purchase for 50 percent to 60 percent less at a larger store," Stem said.

From Barron's ● Feb. 15, 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 Treasury Department’s announcement of a bond buyback stemmed a selloff—but not for long.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

Some of the enthusiasm around consumer spending in the first half of 2026 stemmed from tax refunds, Hatzius said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026

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

Nonthaburi governor Chestha Mosikarat earlier told reporters the suspect and victim were "friends for a long time" and the incident likely stemmed from a misunderstanding.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

It seemed incredible that such lasting ire as Corporal Whitcomb’s could have stemmed from his rejection of Bingo or the form letters home to the families of the men killed in combat.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

The Texas case is only one part of the massive financial judgments against Jones stemming from his Sandy Hook lies.

From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026

The probe marks the latest setback GM has faced in dealing with costly safety issues stemming from this V-8 engine, known internally as the L87.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

The local council has in fact come up with a plan to attract even more to this corner of the west of Scotland as a means of stemming its falling population.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

State Farm relies on various outside firms to litigate policy disputes, including some stemming from alleged mishandling of claims related to the January 2025 wildfires.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

And the essay on geometry considered the revolutionary insights stemming from that day in bed on the banks of the Danube.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin

Related Words

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