stalk

/stɔk/

/stɔk/

Other forms: stalks; stalked; stalking

A stalk is a long, vertical stem or connecting part of a plant. When you eat celery, do you like the inner stalks, which are paler and more tender, or the tough outer ones?

As a verb, stalk means to walk stiffly or angrily. If someone insults you, you might stalk from the room and refuse to listen to another word. When hunting, an animal stalks its prey — it follows its quarry stealthily until it's time to pounce. Similarly, if a person stalks you, they follow and watch you. It is very threatening and frightening to the one who is being stalked, and the police should be called.

Definitions of stalk

1. noun

   a slender or elongated structure that supports a plant or fungus or a plant part or plant organ
   synonyms: stem

   types:

   gynophore

   the stalk of a pistil that raises it above the receptacle

   carpophore

   a slender stalk that furnishes an axis for a carpel

   corn stalk, cornstalk

   the stalk of a corn plant

   filament

   the stalk of a stamen

   funicle, funiculus

   the stalk of a plant ovule or seed

   petiolule

   the stalk of a leaflet

   cane

   a strong slender often flexible stem as of bamboos, reeds, rattans, or sugar cane

   sporangiophore

   stalk bearing one or more sporangia

   cutting, slip

   a part (sometimes a root or leaf or bud) removed from a plant to propagate a new plant through rooting or grafting

   tuber

   a fleshy underground stem or root serving for reproductive and food storage

   rhizome, rootstalk, rootstock

   a horizontal plant stem with shoots above and roots below serving as a reproductive structure

   axis

   the main stem or central part about which plant organs or plant parts such as branches are arranged

   caudex

   woody stem of palms and tree ferns

   beanstalk

   stem of a bean plant

   cladode, cladophyll, phylloclad, phylloclade

   a flattened stem resembling and functioning as a leaf

   caudex, stock

   persistent thickened stem of a herbaceous perennial plant

   stipe

   supporting stalk or stem-like structure especially of a pistil or fern frond or supporting a mushroom cap

   flower stalk, scape

   erect leafless flower stalk growing directly from the ground as in a tulip

   leafstalk, petiole

   the slender stem that supports the blade of a leaf

   bulb

   a modified bud consisting of a thickened globular underground stem serving as a reproductive structure

   corm

   solid swollen underground bulb-shaped stem or stem base and serving as a reproductive structure

   branch

   a division of a stem, or secondary stem arising from the main stem of a plant

   culm

   stem of plants of the Gramineae

   halm, haulm

   stems of beans and peas and potatoes and grasses collectively as used for thatching and bedding

   bole, tree trunk, trunk

   the main stem of a tree; usually covered with bark; the bole is usually the part that is commercially useful for lumber

   water chestnut

   edible bulbous tuber of a Chinese marsh plant

   groundnut, potato bean, wild bean

   nutlike tuber; important food of Native Americans

   Jerusalem artichoke

   edible tuber of the Jerusalem artichoke

   yam

   edible tuber of any of several yams

   sugar cane, sugarcane

   juicy canes whose sap is a source of molasses and commercial sugar; fresh canes are sometimes chewed for the juice

   rattan, rattan cane

   the stem of various climbing palms of the genus Calamus and related genera used to make wickerwork and furniture and canes

   malacca

   stem of the rattan palm used for making canes and umbrella handles

   onion

   the bulb of an onion plant

   shallot

   aggregate bulb of the multiplier onion

   squill

   bulb of the sea squill, which is sliced, dried, and used as an expectorant

   quickset

   cuttings of plants set in the ground to grow as hawthorn for hedges or vines

   rachis

   axis of a compound leaf or compound inflorescence

   phyllode

   an expanded petiole taking on the function of a leaf blade

   peduncle

   stalk bearing an inflorescence or solitary flower

   spadix

   the fleshy axis of a spike often surrounded by a spathe

   bulbil, bulblet

   small bulb or bulb-shaped growth arising from the leaf axil or in the place of flowers

   deadwood

   a branch or a part of a tree that is dead

   limb, tree branch

   any of the main branches arising from the trunk or a bough of a tree

   branchlet, sprig, twig

   a small branch or division of a branch (especially a terminal division); usually applied to branches of the current or preceding year

   type of:

   plant organ

   a functional and structural unit of a plant or fungus
2. noun

   material consisting of seed coverings and small pieces of stem or leaves that have been separated from the seeds
   synonyms: chaff, husk, shuck, straw, stubble

   types:

   bran

   broken husks of the seeds of cereal grains that are separated from the flour by sifting

   type of:

   plant material, plant substance

   material derived from plants
3. noun

   a stiff or threatening gait
   synonyms: angry walk

   type of:

   gait

   a person's manner of walking
4. noun

   a hunt for game carried on by following it stealthily or waiting in ambush
   synonyms: stalking, still hunt

   types:

   deerstalking

   stalking deer

   type of:

   hunt, hunting

   the work of finding and killing or capturing animals for food or pelts
5. noun

   the act of following prey stealthily
   synonyms: stalking

   type of:

   chase, following, pursual, pursuit

   the act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture
6. verb

   walk stiffly
   type of:

   walk

   use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
7. verb

   go through (an area) in search of prey
   “stalk the woods for deer”

   type of:

   follow, pursue

   follow in or as if in pursuit
8. verb

   recur constantly and spontaneously to
   synonyms: haunt

   type of:

   follow, pursue

   follow in or as if in pursuit
9. verb

   watch, follow, or harass someone in an obsessive way
   type of:

   follow, surveil, survey

   keep under surveillance