stalk

noun

/stɔːk/

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a thin stem that supports a leaf, flower or fruit and joins it to another part of the plant or tree; the main stem of a plant
- flowers on long stalks
- celery stalks
- He ate the apple, stalk and all.
Topics Plants and treesc2
a long, thin structure that supports something, especially an organ in some animals, and joins it on to another part
- Crabs have eyes on stalks.

Word Originnoun Middle English: probably a diminutive of dialect stale ‘rung of a ladder, long handle’.

verb

/stɔːk/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they stalk	/stɔːk/ /stɔːk/
he / she / it stalks	/stɔːks/ /stɔːks/
past simple stalked	/stɔːkt/ /stɔːkt/
past participle stalked	/stɔːkt/ /stɔːkt/
-ing form stalking	/ˈstɔːkɪŋ/ /ˈstɔːkɪŋ/

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[transitive, intransitive] stalk (something/somebody) to move slowly and quietly towards an animal or a person, in order to kill, catch or harm it or them
- The lion was stalking a zebra.
- He stalked his victim as she walked home, before attacking and robbing her.
[transitive] stalk somebody to illegally follow and watch somebody over a long period of time, in a way that is annoying or frightening
- She claimed that he had been stalking her over a period of three years.
Topics Crime and punishmentc2
[intransitive] + adv./prep. to walk in an angry or proud way
- He stalked off without a word.
- The actress stalked out of a press conference when asked if she had a weight problem.
- Snatching up her bag, she stalked out of the room.
[transitive, intransitive] stalk (something) to move through a place in an unpleasant or threatening way
- The gunmen stalked the building, looking for victims.
- (figurative) Fear stalks the streets of the city at night.

Word Originverb late Old English -stealcian (in bistealcian ‘walk cautiously or stealthily’), of Germanic origin; related to steal.