the main stalk or trunk of a plant or shrub, from which the leaves and flowers develop

the slender stalk of a flower, leaf, or fruit; = pedicel, petiole

a bunch of bananas

a genealogical stock or line of ancestry, esp a main line from which others have branched

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse — Bible

the main unchanging part of a word to which inflectional endings or other formative affixes are added

a vertical stroke of a letter or musical note

the tube of a tobacco pipe

the slender support between the base and bowl of a wineglass

a shaft of a watch used for winding

the shaft of a bolt

formal (+ from) to originate or arise from something

Naturalistic evolution belongs to the category of knowledge … and so resistance to it stems from ignorance — Phillip E Johnson

to remove the stems from (fruit, etc)

said of a ship: to make headway against (the tide or current)

to stop (something flowing); staunch¹

She tried to stem the bleeding

to stop (the onward progress of something)

They aim to stem the rising tide of crime

to turn (one's skis) heel outward in stemming

to retard oneself by forcing the heel of one or both skis outward from the line of progress