noun

stem

stehm

noun

The main stalk of a plant that supports leaves, flowers, or fruit.

"She trimmed the stems before putting the roses in a vase."

A slender supporting part of an object, such as a wine glass or tobacco pipe.

"He held the wine glass by its stem."

The base form of a word to which endings are added.

"The stem of "running" is "run.""

verb

To originate or arise from something.

"Her fear of dogs stems from a childhood incident."

"Many of the delays stem from poor planning."

To stop or hold back the flow or spread of something.

"Doctors worked quickly to stem the bleeding."

"The government introduced measures to stem the rise in unemployment."

How to Use Stem

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishMost often the stalk of a plant, but also used for anything shaped like one, and — as a verb — for stopping something from spreading.

Common mistake

"Stem from" (originate) and "stem" (stop) look identical but mean opposite things — check the surrounding sentence carefully.

Common pairings

stem from stem the flow stem the tide stem cell

stemmed past tense, stemmed past tense, stems plural, Stems plural, stems singular, stems singular

Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.

Test yourself on “stem” A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage →

Can you complete this real example?

She trimmed the _____ before putting the roses in a vase.

From Old English stemn, "stem, trunk," from a Germanic root meaning "to stand" — the same deep root that gives us "stand" and "stamen."

item totem system ecosystem perimortem