Stem
(Stem), v. t.
1. To remove the stem or stems from; as, to stem cherries; to remove the stem and its appendages (ribs
and veins) from; as, to stem tobacco leaves.
2. To ram, as clay, into a blasting hole.
Stem
(Stem), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stemmed ; p. pr. & vb. n. Stemming.] [Either from stem, n., or
akin to stammer; cf. G. stemmen to press against.] To oppose or cut with, or as with, the stem of a
vessel; to resist, or make progress against; to stop or check the flow of, as a current. "An argosy to stem
the waves." Shak.
[They] stem the flood with their erected breasts.
Denham.
Stemmed the wild torrent of a barbarous age.
Pope. Stem
(Stem), v. i. To move forward against an obstacle, as a vessel against a current.
Stemming nightly toward the pole.
Milton.
