Stem meaning

What does “stem” mean? Definitions, examples, synonyms and opposites.

“stem” is a noun and verb with 10 meanings. Its most common meaning is: (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed.

stem

noun

  1. (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed

    “thematic vowels are part of the stem”

  2. a slender or elongated structure that supports a plant or fungus or a plant part or plant organ

    Synonymsstalk
  3. cylinder forming a long narrow part of something

    Synonymsshank
  4. the tube of a tobacco pipe

  5. front part of a vessel or aircraft

    “he pointed the bow of the boat toward the finish line”

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

    Synonymsstem turn

verb

  1. grow out of, have roots in, originate in

    “The increase in the national debt stems from the last war”

  2. cause to point inward

    “stem your skis”

  3. stop the flow of a liquid

    “staunch the blood flow”

    “stem the tide”

  4. remove the stem from

    “for automatic natural language processing, the words must be stemmed”

Source: WordNet 3.1, Princeton University