1. (

• root ,
• root_word ,
• base ,
• stem ,
• theme ,
• radical ,

) (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed; "thematic vowels are part of the stem" ;

2. (

• stalk ,
• stem

) a slender or elongated structure that supports a plant or fungus or a plant part or plant organ ;

3. (

• shank ,
• stem ,

) cylinder forming a long narrow part of something ;

4. (

• stem ,

) the tube of a tobacco pipe ;

5. (

• bow ,
• fore ,
• prow ,
• stem

) front part of a vessel or aircraft; "he pointed the bow of the boat toward the finish line" ;

6. (

• stem_turn ,
• stem

) a turn made in skiing; the back of one ski is forced outward and the other ski is brought parallel to it ;

1. (

• stem

) grow out of, have roots in, originate in; "The increase in the national debt stems from the last war" ;

2. (

• stem ,

) cause to point inward; "stem your skis" ;

3. (

• stem ,
• stanch ,
• staunch ,
• halt ,

) stop the flow of a liquid; "staunch the blood flow"; "stem the tide" ;

4. (

• stem ,

) remove the stem from; "for automatic natural language processing, the words must be stemmed" ;