Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use stem in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun, verb

Stem means the stock of a family; a race or generation of progenitors. Example: “The current crisis stems from the short-sighted politics of the previous government.”

Examples of stem by meaning

nounThe above-ground stalk (technically axis) of a vascular plant, and certain anatomically similar, below-ground organs...

  • He had placed her upon the grass by now, her back resting against the stem of a huge tree.1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 212

nounA slender supporting member of an individual part of a plant such as a flower or a leaf; also, by analogy, the shaft of...

  • the stem of an apple or a cherry
  • Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close (less than half a meter) above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them.2013 May-June, William E. Conner, “An Acoustic Arms Race”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, pages 206–7

nounA person's leg.

  • A pocket-size Venus, with the longest stems he'd ever seen on someone so dang diminutive.2008, Lori Wilde, Rhonda Nelson, Cara Summers, August Harlequin Blaze

nounThe penis.

  • Waves of ecstasy roll through him as the moustachioed Casanova slides his stem in and out of the spaced-out chick.2005, Eric Bogosian, Wasted Beauty, page 135

nounA premixed portion of a track for use in audio mastering and remixing.

  • Stem mastering processes a mix by breaking it down into several manageable pieces—that is, stereo stems.2019, Karl Pedersen, Mark Grimshaw-Aagaard, The Recording, Mixing, and Mastering Reference Handbook, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page...

nounThe front part of a vessel.

  • from stem to stern

verbTo remove the stem from.

  • to stem cherries; to stem tobacco leaves

verbTo be caused or derived; to originate.

  • The current crisis stems from the short-sighted politics of the previous government.
  • Weight stigma often stems from an idea that patients are at fault for their body size.2023 June 2, H Conley, “Studies show top surgery is safe for fat patients, but some surgeons still mandate weight loss”, in STAT

More sentences with stem

  • The Sunak government announced plans to stem the flow of migrants coming into Great Britain.From the entry government
  • Collar rot forms in the collet between the stem and the root.From the entry collet
  • The long-stemmed roses didn't fit in the short vase because the stems were too long.From the entry stemmed
  • An indef seems the only way to stem the flow of disruption from this user.From the entry indef
  • He showed up at my door with a long stem rose and wished me a happy monthaversary.From the entry monthaversary
  • The stem of "kobieta" with the zero ending is "kobiet".From the entry zero
  • Democracy’s legitimacy stems from the consent of the governed.From the entry legitimacy
  • The stem of the mushroom is squamulose.From the entry squamulose
  • A semiligneous stem is partly woody and partly herbaceous.From the entry semiligneous
  • The ducts in a banana stem are trabeculate.From the entry trabeculate
  • Adnate mushroom gills are broadly attached to the stalk slightly above the bottom of the gill, with most of the gill fused to the stem.From the entry adnate
  • The man suffered from innumeracy stemming from a brain injury, and depended on his wife for all financial matters, no matter how trivial.From the entry innumeracy
  • An individual flower that is subtended by a scale leaf at its junction with the stem of a plant; a rudimentary leaf.From the entry scale leaf
  • The development of plutophobia typically stems from a complex interplay of psychological, social, and experiential factors.2024 December 10, “What Is Plutophobia? Understanding the Fear of Wealth”, in Asana Recovery, archived from the original on 14 Sep 2025. From the entry plutophobia
  • Délı̨nę's claims on the birthplace of hockey stem from records in explorer Sir John Franklin's diaries.2022 December 20, Natalie Pressman, “Délı̨nę, N.W.T. — the birthplace of hockey — celebrates upgrades to its rink”, in CBC News. From the entry Délı̨nę
  • But Kenny's rabe stems are the stars on the plate, sweet and tender.2021, Peter Hoffman, What's Good?: A Memoir in Fourteen Ingredients. From the entry rabe
  • He is a sufficient route runner despite underutilizing his size during the stem phase.2021, Matt Manocherian, SIS Football Rookie Handbook 2021. From the entry route runner
  • The candelabra tree has a long stem with branches growing only at the upper part.2020, Naoimi Kipuri, Oral Literature of the Maasai, page 166. From the entry candelabra tree
  • The threat stems from antimicrobial resistance or AMR, as this silent killer is called.2018 January 19, Thomas Cueni, “Pulling Together To Thwart A Silent Killer”, in Life Science Leader, archived from the original on 21 Oct…. From the entry AMR
  • They are starting to assemble stem cells that can organize themselves into embryolike structures.2017 March 21, Carl Zimmer, “A New Form of Stem-Cell Engineering Raises Ethical Questions”, in The New York Times, archived from the…. From the entry in vitro
  • It is slightly asymmetrical with rounded shoulders and a long, squared stem.2017, J. Brett Cruse, Battles of the Red River War, page 197. From the entry arrowpoint
  • After 6–8 weeks, limbal stem cell-deficient animals showed totally conjunctivalized corneas.2016 January 26, “Comparative Analysis of Substrate-Free Cultured Oral Mucosal Epithelial Cell Sheets from Cells of Subjects with and…. From the entry conjunctivalized
  • Karadžić based the codified norm on a common dialect, paradoxically stemming from Herzegovina.2016, Barbora Moormann-Kimáková, “Explaining Success and Failure of Language Regimes”, in Language-related Conflicts in Multinational and…. From the entry Vukovian
  • The stems in this family often bear subfloral innovations below the gametangia.2014, Flora of North America Editorial Committee, Flora of North America North of Mexico: Bryophyta - Part 2, →ISBN, page 191. From the entry subfloral
  • If there are multiple correct answers to a question stem, don’t try to predict all of them.2014, Shelley L. Giordano, Examination Review for Radiography, →ISBN, page 9. From the entry question stem
  • The response options and spaces are in a smaller font and indented underneath the question stem.2014, Don A. Dillman, Jolene D. Smyth, Leah Melani Christian, Internet, Phone, Mail, and Mixed-Mode Surveys: The Tailored Design Method…. From the entry question stem
  • She Sellotaped the stems back on but they just fell off again.2013, Ella Griffin, A Little Bit of Summer, Orion Books, →ISBN. From the entry sellotape
  • Most problems stem from issues associated with the numerous bushes fitted to suspension arms and rollbar assemblies.2013, Robert Foskett, Alfa Romeo 916 GTV and Spider: The Complete Story. From the entry rollbar
  • The notion of Marechera's propheticality stems from the critical position he adopted towards the post-independence regime.2013, Anna-Leena Toivanen, “Vindicating Dambudzo Marechera: Features of Cultic Remembering”, in Nordic Journal of African Studies, volume…. From the entry propheticality
  • Ekman said the Othello error stems from a truthful person being afraid of not being believed.2013, Kelly D. Harrison, Forensic Interviewing: For Law Enforcement, →ISBN, page 75. From the entry Othello error

Meaning of stem

  1. noun The stock of a family; a race or generation of progenitors.
  2. noun A branch of a family.
  3. noun A branch, or group of branches, located outside a family or other cladistic group, but which is more closely related to that group than to any other taxon of the same rank.

Full definition of stem

Questions about stem in a sentence

How do you use stem in a sentence?
Stem is used as a noun and verb. For example: “The current crisis stems from the short-sighted politics of the previous government.”
What is a short sentence with stem?
“from stem to stern”
What does stem mean?
Stem means the stock of a family; a race or generation of progenitors.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: stem (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use stem in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/stem. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.