From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishstemstem1 /stem/ ●●○ noun [countable] 1 
HBPthe long thin part of a plant, from which leaves, flowers, or fruit grow SYN stalk2 DFDthe long thin part of a wine glass, vase etc, between the base and the wide top3 DFTthe narrow tube of a pipe used to smoke tobacco4 → long-stemmed/short-stemmed etc5 SLGthe part of a word that stays the same when different endings are added to it, for example ‘driv-’ in ‘driving’
HBPthe long thin part of a plant, from which leaves, flowers, or fruit grow SYN stalk2 DFDthe long thin part of a wine glass, vase etc, between the base and the wide top3 DFTthe narrow tube of a pipe used to smoke tobacco4 → long-stemmed/short-stemmed etc5 SLGthe part of a word that stays the same when different endings are added to it, for example ‘driv-’ in ‘driving’Examples from the Corpus
stem• But the plant continually produces new stalks through the year, so there always should be some new stems to pick.• It produces small, fragrant flowers that cluster on older stems.• You can try anything from a single stem to a braided bunch with Antenna's new collection of flowery Monofibre extensions.• The stem is thin and rooted.• It looked like something pulled from the earth, a tuberous stem or fungus esteemed by gourmets.stemstem2 verb (stemmed, stemming) [transitive] 1 STOP something THAT IS HAPPENINGto stop something from happening, spreading, or developingstem the tide/flow/flood of something The measures are meant to stem the tide of illegal immigration.stem the growth/rise/decline etc an attempt to stem the decline in profits2 formalSTOP something THAT IS HAPPENING to stop the flow of a liquid A tight bandage should stem the bleeding. → stem from something→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
stem• Two things stem directly from the location of a submarine eruption.• Working through this despair, which stemmed from early childhood, was a long and painful task.• This small act of concealment had partly stemmed from the fact that she herself had never had money.• The weakness of the Arab nations stems from the fact that they buy weapons instead of choosing to do their own research.• The exact date of its original building is disputed but it probably stems from the late fifth or early sixth century.• Thomas' patronage stems from the many churches he built during his pilgrimages.• Their recovery since then stems from winning several lucrative long-term Defence contracts.• He used a rag to stem the bleeding.stem the tide/flow/flood of something• Church had effectively stemmed the flood of artists.• Through this conservative normativist theory Dicey attempted to stem the tide of government growth in a collectivist direction.• Both the Senate and the administration seemed powerless to stem the tide of hysteria.• This illustrates the type of practical public health action that could be taken to stem the tide of obesity.• Then she dropped her face into her hands, unable to stem the flood of tears a second longer.• She stemmed the flow of tears that came, knowing they would sting his body.• After the game Kasparov said that Karpov had to play 24 ... d3 to stem the flow of the White attack.STEMSTEM /stem/the abbreviation of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, used especially when talking about educationOrigin stem1 Old English stefn, stemn stem2 (1200-1300) Old Norse stemma. stem from (1900-2000) From → STEM1 