stem

Pronunciation

• enPR: stĕm, IPA ^(key): /stɛm/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

Singular stem

Plural stems

Fruit with a little stem at the left

1. A stem is a long, thin thing joining parts of a plant.

   Put the stems of the flowers in this cup of water.

2. A stem is a narrow part of certain man-made objects, such as a tobacco pipe, a spoon.

Verb

Plain form stem

Third-person singular stems

Past tense stemmed

Past participle stemmed

Present participle stemming

1. If you stem soemthing, you remove the stem from it.

   to stem cherries; to stem tobacco leaves

2. If a problem stems from an action, it is caused by or originates from the action.

   The current crisis stems from the short-sighted politics of the previous government.