| Definitions | | stem |
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noun
- (botany) The above-ground stalk (technically axis) of a vascular plant, and certain anatomically similar, below-ground organs such as rhizomes, bulbs, tubers, and corms.
- A slender supporting member of an individual part of a plant such as a flower or a leaf; also, by analogue the shaft of a feather.
- A narrow part on certain man-made objects, such as a wine glass, a tobacco pipe, a spoon.
- (linguistics) The main part of an uninflected word to which endings may be added to form inflections of the word.
- (typography) A vertical stroke of a letter.
- (music) A vertical stroke of a symbol representing a note in written music.
- (nautical) The vertical or nearly vertical forward extension of the keel, to which the forward ends of the planks or strakes are attached. (FM 55-501).
verb (stem, m, ing)
- To descend in a family line.
- To be caused or derived; to originate.
- The current crisis stems from the short-sighted politics of the previous government.
- To take out the stem from something.
- To stop, hinder (for instance, a river or blood).
- stem a tide
- (skiing) To move the feet apart and point the tips of the skis inward in order to slow down the speed or to facilitate a turn.
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Full Definition of stem
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