The Clue
Checks (5 letter answer)
The Answer
STEMS
Tags
Notes
The answer STEMS is common and appears about once every 200 puzzles.
Related Clues
Blocks
Gams
Petioles
Rises
Rises from
Springs
Stalks
Stanches
Apple supports
Cherries' leftovers
Cut flowers
Cuts off
Florists' cuttings
Florists' units
Florist's waste
Flower holders
Flower holders?
Flute parts
Holds back
Legs: Slang
Pipe parts
Sap sites
Ski turns
Slows, as the flow
Watch parts
Watch things
Definition
STEM as a noun:
1. (root, root word, base, stem, theme, radical) = (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed; "thematic vowels are part of the stem"
2. (stalk, stem) = a slender or elongated structure that supports a plant or fungus or a plant part or plant organ
3. (shank, stem) = cylinder forming a long narrow part of something
4. the tube of a tobacco pipe
5. (bow, fore, prow, stem) = front part of a vessel or aircraft; "he pointed the bow of the boat toward the finish line"
6. (stem turn, stem) = a turn made in skiing; the back of one ski is forced outward and the other ski is brought parallel to it
STEM as a verb:
1. grow out of, have roots in, originate in; "The increase in the national debt stems from the last war"
2. cause to point inward; "stem your skis"
3. (stem, stanch, staunch, halt) = stop the flow of a liquid; "staunch the blood flow"; "them the tide"
4. remove the stem from; "for automatic natural language processing, the words must be stemmed"