stem borer

noun

Any insect larva, or arthropod, that bores into plant stems.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounstem borer (plural stem borers)

plural stem borers · alternative stemborer

  1. Any insect larva, or arthropod, that bores into plant stems.

    The Manitoba maple was subject to a stem-borer which destroyed its growing tips, and in any case it had a diffuse, shrubby growth which never concentrated naturally into a single trunk.

    1972, James M. Minifie, Homesteader, A Prairie Boyhood Recalled, page 121

Origin

From stem + borer.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

stem borer. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stem%20borer

MLA

“stem borer.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stem%20borer. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “stem borer,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stem%20borer.

Source: stem borer on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.