stalk

CEFRB2

/stɔːk/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To follow someone secretly and often in a threatening way.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    Something resembling the stalk of a plant, such as the stem of a quill.

Examples

  • Oh, the rice stalk is sticking up in the tea. Something good might happen.

  • The lion will often stalk its prey for hours.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
1

Also pronounced

  • /staːk/
  • /stoːk/

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meaning

  1. The petiole, pedicel, or peduncle of a plant.

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The stem or main axis of a plant.

  2. An ornament in the Corinthian capital resembling the stalk of a plant, from which the volutes and helices spring.

More examples

In context

  • The stalk is a little bigger around than your little finger.

  • a stalk of wheat, rye, or oats; the stalks of maize or hemp

  • My ex-girlfriend is stalking me.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The rose had a long green blank that held the flower up.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English stalke, stelke, stalk, perhaps from Old English *stealc, *stielc, *stealuc, from Proto-West Germanic *staluk, *stalik, from Proto-Germanic *stalukaz, *stalikaz, diminutive of Proto-Germanic *stalô, *staluz (“support, stem, stalk”), from Proto-Indo-European *stel- (“to place, stand; be stiff; stud, post, trunk, stake, stem, stalk”). Cognates Cognate with Dutch staal (“sample”), steel (“stem”), German Stiel (“stalk”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål stilk (“stalk, stem”), Faroese stjølur (“bottom part of a sheaf”), Icelandic stilkur (“stalk, stem”), Norwegian Nynorsk stilk, stylk (“stalk, stem”), styl (“lower part of a straw”), Swedish stjälk (“stalk, stem”), Albanian shtalkë (“c...