Meaning & use
cornstalk
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Meanings
nouncountable
The tall main stem of a corn plant, which holds the leaves and ears off the ground.
Grammar: Also found as corn stalk; often plural when a whole field is meant.
Patterns
- a field of cornstalks
The wind rustled the dry cornstalks in the field.
Farmers chop the cornstalks and use them as animal feed.
A tall cornstalk bent under the weight of its ears.
nouncountableinformalhumorousAmerican
A very tall, thin person, often used as a teasing description.
Grammar: Used jokingly and mainly in American English.
Patterns
- tall as a cornstalk
Her little brother has grown into a lanky cornstalk.
Grandpa called the tall boy a cornstalk.
He is a cornstalk of a man, nearly seven feet tall.
Word forms
| plural | cornstalks |
|---|
Common combinations
- dry cornstalks
- Dry cornstalks decorated the porch in autumn.
- cut cornstalks
- They cut cornstalks for silage.
- rows of cornstalks
- Rows of cornstalks stretched to the horizon.
- bundle of cornstalks
- A bundle of cornstalks was tied to the lamppost.
- tall as a cornstalk
- By age fourteen he was as tall as a cornstalk.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- corn noun
- the cereal plant and its grain
- cornfield noun
- a field where corn grows
- cornmeal noun
- ground dried corn
- cornstarch noun
- a fine flour made from corn
Commonly confused: cornstalk or cob?
cornstalk vs cob
A cob is the hard core on which the kernels grow, while the cornstalk is the whole stem of the plant.
Practice
Which part of the plant is the cornstalk?
Choose one answer.
The cornstalk is the main stem. The kernels grow on the cob and the silk threads sit at the tip of the ear.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cornstalk”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.