Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense stalks, present participle stalking, past tense, past participle stalked
1. countable noun
The stalk of a flower, leaf, or fruit is the thin part that joins it to the plant or tree.
A single pale blue flower grows up from each joint on a long stalk.
...corn stalks.
Synonyms: stem, shoot, branch, stock More Synonyms of stalk
2. verb
If you stalk a person or a wild animal, you follow them quietly in order to kill them, catch them, or observe them carefully.
The hunter stalked the stag for days. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: pursue, follow, track, hunt More Synonyms of stalk
3. verb
If someone stalks someone else, especially a famous person or a person they used to have a relationship with, they keep following them or contacting them in an annoying and frightening way.
Even after their divorce he continued to stalk and threaten her. [VERB noun]
stalkinguncountable noun
The Home Secretary is considering a new law against stalking.
4. verb
If you stalk somewhere, you walk there in a stiff, proud, or angry way.
If his patience is tried at meetings he has been known to stalk out. [VERB adverb/preposition]
Synonyms: march, pace, stride, strut More Synonyms of stalk
5. verb
If you say that something bad such as death, fear, or evil stalks a place, you mean it is there.
[literary]
...tales of famine stalking the streets of the city. [VERB noun]
stalk in British English1
(stɔːk)
noun
1.
the main stem of a herbaceous plant
2.
any of various subsidiary plant stems, such as a leafstalk (petiole) or flower stalk (peduncle)
3.
a slender supporting structure in animals such as crinoids and certain protozoans, coelenterates, and barnacles
4.
any long slender supporting shaft or column
Derived forms
stalked
adjective
stalkless (ˈstalkless)
adjective
stalklike (ˈstalkˌlike)
adjective
Word origin
C14: probably a diminutive formed from Old English stalu upright piece of wood; related to Old Frisian staal handle
stalk in British English2
(stɔːk)
verb
1.
to follow or approach (game, prey, etc) stealthily and quietly
2.
to pursue persistently and, sometimes, attack (a person with whom one is obsessed, often a celebrity)
3.
to spread over (a place) in a menacing or grim manner
fever stalked the camp
4. (intransitive)
to walk in a haughty, stiff, or threatening way
he stalked out in disgust
5.
to search or draw (a piece of land) for prey
noun
6.
the act of stalking
7.
a stiff or threatening stride
Derived forms
stalker (ˈstalker)
noun
Word origin
Old English bestealcian to walk stealthily; related to Middle Low German stolkeren, Danish stalke
stalk in American English1
(stɔk)
verb intransitive
1.
a.
to walk in a stiff, haughty, or grim manner
b.
to advance or spread grimly
plague stalks across the land
2.
to pursue or approach game, an enemy, etc. stealthily, as from cover
3. Obsolete
to walk or move along stealthily or furtively
verb transitive
4.
to pursue or approach (game, prey, etc.) stealthily
5.
to stalk through
terror stalked the streets
6.
to follow or pursue (another person) persistently in a harassing and, typically,obsessive way
noun
7.
a slow, stiff, haughty, or grim stride
8.
the act of stalking game, an enemy, etc.
Derived forms
stalker (ˈstalker)
noun
stalking (ˈstalking)
noun
Word origin
ME stalken < OE stealcian (in comp.) < stealc, high, steep < IE *stelg- < base *stel-, to place, set up > still1, Gr stellein
stalk in American English2
(stɔk)
noun
1.
any stem or stemlike part, as a slender rod, shaft, or support
2. Botany
a.
the main stem or axis of a plant
b.
a lengthened part of a plant on which an organ grows or is supported, as the petiole of a leaf,the peduncle of a flower, etc.
3. Zoology
a.
a lengthened support for an animal organ
b.
a similar structure supporting a whole animal body, as the peduncle of a goose barnacle
Derived forms
stalked
adjective
stalkless (ˈstalkless)
adjective
Word origin
ME stalke, akin to OE stealc, high, steep < IE *stelg- < base *stel-: see still1
Examples of 'stalk' in a sentence
stalk
They can easily be distinguished by their thick flower stalks.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Where do leaf stalks branch off the main stem?
Robertson, Bruce Learn to Draw Countryside (1996)
Discard the stiff coriander stalk ends and chop the rest of the bunch finely.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
It becomes a corn stalk and then produces an ear of corn.
Christianity Today (2000)
They grow on long stalks that curve upwards.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
He stalks his prey for two hours then fires the fatal shot.
The Sun (2010)
The flowers nod gracefully on slender stalks.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Place stalk side down on a grill pan and brush with oil.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Dog violets are a little larger and grow on branches off the main stalk.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The flower stalks must have been three feet tall and the heads were enormous.
Eddison, Sydney A Patchwork Garden: Unexpected Pleasures from a Country Garden (1990)
Do corn stalks cut after sunset really run red with blood?
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
It is the little yellow dandelion with long thin stalks that grows in its hundreds over grassy banks and hillsides.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
They stalked their prey with the same skill and finesse with which many of them had hunted wild game before the war.
Andy Dougan THE HUNTING OF MAN (2004)
Release the button on the steering column stalk and the job's done.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The stalks grow pale and wide, the flavour mellow yet powerful and tangy.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Like spinach, it should have decidedly more leaf than stalk.
Smith, Drew Food Watch (1994)
It has numerous bright blue or purple flowers in clusters at the top of stiff stalks and large leathery leaves at the bottom.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Peel and core the pears, taking care to leave the stalks in place.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
GOT pictures or other proof of an animal stalking your area?
The Sun (2009)
It's not that the column stalk doesn't work.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Sometimes one comes across a single stalk that is snaking its way day by day across a woodland floor, and very easily trips one up when walking.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The resulting rhubarb stalks are slender, sweeter, far more tender and without any of the green colour of usual rhubarb.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The lower part of the stalks can be used in a soup, pasta or risotto, after peeling away remaining fibrous threads.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
AN MI5 agent accused of attacking and stalking his spy ex-girlfriend was cleared yesterday.
The Sun (2013)
In other languages
stalk
British English: stalk NOUN
The stalk of a flower, leaf, or fruit is the thin part that joins it to the plant or tree.
A single pale blue flower grows up from each joint on a long stalk.
American English: stalk
Brazilian Portuguese: talo
Chinese: > 柄花、叶、果实与植株相连的
European Spanish: tallo
French: tige
German: Stiel
Italian: gambo
Japanese: 茎
Korean: > 줄기식물의
European Portuguese: talo
Latin American Spanish: tallo
British English: stalk VERB
If you stalk a person or a wild animal, you follow them quietly in order to kill them, catch them, or observe them carefully.
He stalks his victims like a hunter after a deer.
American English: stalk
Brazilian Portuguese: caçar de tocaia
Chinese: > 尾随花、叶、果实与植株相连的
European Spanish: acechar
French: traquer
German: auflauern
Italian: perseguitare
Japanese: あとをつける
Korean: 스토킹하다
European Portuguese: perseguir
Latin American Spanish: acechar
Chinese translation of 'stalk'
stalk
(stɔːk)
n(c)
[of flower, leaf]梗 (gěng)
[of fruit]柄 (bǐng)
vt
[animal]潜(潛)步追踪(蹤) (qiánbù zhuīzōng)
[person]骚(騷)扰(擾) (sāorǎo)
vi
to stalk out/off昂首阔(闊)步地走出/离(離)开(開) (áng shǒu kuò bù de zǒuchū/líkāi)
(noun)
Definition
a stem that joins a leaf or flower to the main stem of a plant
A single pale blue flower grows up from each joint on a long stalk.
Synonyms
stem
He cut the stem for her with his knife and handed her the flower.
shoot
This week saw the first pink shoots of the new season's crop.
branch
the low, overhanging branches of a giant pine tree
stock
trunk
toadstools growing on fallen tree trunks
peduncle
1 (verb)
Definition
to follow (an animal or person) quietly and secretly in order to catch or kill them
Wolves stalk their prey across the tundra.
Synonyms
pursue
She pursued the man who had stolen her bag.
follow
I think we're being followed.
track
He thought he had better track this creature and kill it.
hunt
Police are hunting a large wildcat that has escaped from the zoo.
shadow
shadowed by a large and highly visible body of police
tail (informal)
Officers had tailed the gang in an undercover inquiry.
haunt
creep up on
2 (verb)
Definition
to walk in an angry, arrogant, or stiff way
If his patience is tried at meetings he has been known to stalk out.
Synonyms
march
She marched in without even knocking.
pace
I paced the room nervously.
stride
He turned abruptly and strode off down the corridor.
strut
He struts around the town as though he owns the place.
flounce
Additional synonyms
in the sense of branch
Definition
a secondary woody stem extending from the trunk or main branch of a tree
the low, overhanging branches of a giant pine tree
Synonyms
bough,
shoot,
arm,
spray,
limb,
sprig,
offshoot,
prong,
ramification
in the sense of follow
Definition
to go or come after
I think we're being followed.
Synonyms
pursue,
track,
dog,
hunt,
chase,
shadow,
tail (informal),
trail,
hound,
stalk,
run after
in the sense of hunt
Definition
to seek out and kill (animals) for food or sport
Police are hunting a large wildcat that has escaped from the zoo.
Synonyms
stalk,
track,
chase,
pursue,
trail,
hound,
gun for
Synonyms of 'stalk'
stalk
Explore 'stalk' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of pace
Definition
to walk with regular steps, often in anxiety or impatience
I paced the room nervously.
Synonyms
stride,
walk,
pound,
patrol,
walk up and down,
march up and down,
walk back and forth
in the sense of shadow
Definition
to follow or trail secretly
shadowed by a large and highly visible body of police
Synonyms
follow,
track,
pursue,
dog,
tail (informal),
trail,
stalk,
spy on
in the sense of shoot
Definition
a new growth or sprout of a plant
This week saw the first pink shoots of the new season's crop.
Synonyms
sprout,
branch,
bud,
twig,
sprig,
offshoot,
scion,
slip
in the sense of stride
Definition
to walk with long steps or paces
He turned abruptly and strode off down the corridor.
Synonyms
march,
walk,
stalk,
pace,
tread,
strut
in the sense of strut
Definition
to walk in a stiff proud way with head high and shoulders back
He struts around the town as though he owns the place.
Synonyms
swagger,
parade,
stalk,
peacock,
prance
in the sense of tail
Definition
to follow (someone) stealthily
Officers had tailed the gang in an undercover inquiry.
Synonyms
follow,
track,
shadow,
trail,
stalk,
keep an eye on,
dog the footsteps of
in the sense of track
Definition
to follow the trail of (a person or animal)
He thought he had better track this creature and kill it.
Synonyms
follow,
pursue,
chase,
trace,
tail (informal),
dog,
shadow,
trail,
stalk,
hunt down,
follow the trail of
in the sense of trunk
Definition
a person's body excluding the head, neck, and limbs