musk
Americannoun
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musks
plural
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a substance secreted in a glandular sac under the skin of the abdomen of the male musk deer, having a strong odor, and used in perfumery.
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an artificial imitation of the substance.
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a similar secretion of other animals, as the civet, muskrat, and otter.
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the odor of musk or some similar odor.
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Botany. any of several plants, as the monkey flower, having a musky fragrance.
noun
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a strong-smelling glandular secretion of the male musk deer, used in perfumery
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a similar substance produced by certain other animals, such as the civet and otter, or manufactured synthetically
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any of several scrophulariaceous plants of the genus Mimulus, esp the North American M. moschatus, which has yellow flowers and was formerly cultivated for its musky scent See also monkey flower
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the smell of musk or a similar heady smell
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(modifier) containing or resembling musk
musk oil
a musk flavour
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of musk
1350–1400; Middle English musk ( e ) (< Middle French musc ) < Late Latin muscus ( Medieval Latin moschus ) < Late Greek móskos, móschos < Persian mushk
Vocabulary lists containing musk
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The smell of sweet milk hung in the air, mixed with the earthy musk of manure.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
According to the Justice Department, Do and an accomplice tried to export 292 loggerhead musk turtles to Taiwan.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 16, 2026
"This time of year there is not much to hunt. So we rely on musk ox meat and skin," Kleist says.
From Barron's ● Feb. 10, 2026
To make it happen, the firm turned to Google Cloud, which sent a handful of AI engineers armed with Gemini models to spend a day sniffing floral musk, and then managed to crack the code.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 2, 2025
Like the polar bear, the musk ox had come into the Very, Very Far North from somewhere else, and he had chosen the large open field as his home.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
A trail of musks, resinous woods and creamy florals follow him around like an orb of protection.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2024
The new fragrance oil comes in a 10-millimeter, travel-friendly rollerball bottle and is an olfactory delight thanks to 12 musks: lily of the valley, ambergris, oakmoss and amber woods, among them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2024
But the distinctive quality all musks share is a certain lushness, a tendency to smell as opulent as cashmere feels.
From New York Times ● Oct. 18, 2018
Modern musks can be filthy, dainty, weighty, wispy; in short, they’re unpredictable.
From New York Times ● Oct. 18, 2018
The air was rife with the musks of the blossomed mountain-sides, and a medley of bird-music emanated from a hundred species, flitting and flapping their wet wings in the morning dew.
From The Red Debt Echoes from Kentucky by MacDonald, Everett
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
