Etymology: (1250–1300; cf. OE bestealcian to move stealthily, akin to steal)
Definition of 'stalk'
Princeton's WordNet
1. (noun)chaff, husk, shuck, stalk, straw, stubble material consisting of seed coverings and small pieces of stem or leaves that have been separated from the seeds
1. (noun)stalk a long part of a plant to which leaves, flowers, or fruit are attached a celery stalk; a stalk of corn
Definition of 'stalk'
Webster Dictionary
1. (noun)stalk the stem or mainaxis of a plant; as, a stalk of wheat, rye, or oats; the stalks of maize or hemp
2. (noun)stalk the petiole, pedicel, or peduncle, of a plant
3. (noun)stalk that which resembes the stalk of a plant, as the stem of a quill
4. (noun)stalk an ornament in the Corinthian capital resembling the stalk of a plant, from which the volutes and helices spring
5. (noun)stalk one of the two upright pieces of a ladder
6. (noun)stalk a stem or peduncle, as of certain barnacles and crinoids
7. (noun)stalk the narrow basal portion of the abdomen of a hymenopterous insect
8. (noun)stalk the peduncle of the eyes of decapod crustaceans
9. (noun)stalk an iron bar with projections inserted in a core to strengthen it; a core arbor
10. (noun)stalk a high, proud, stately step or walk
11. (verb)stalk to walk slowly and cautiously; to walk in a stealthy, noiseless manner; -- sometimes used with a reflexive pronoun
12. (verb)stalk to walk behind something as a screen, for the purpose of approaching game; to proceed under clover
13. (verb)stalk to walk with high and proud steps; usually implying the affectation of dignity, and indicating dislike. The word is used, however, especially by the poets, to express dignity of step
14. (verb)stalk to approach under cover of a screen, or by stealth, for the purpose of killing, as game