skunk
a small North American mammal, Mephitis mephitis, of the weasel family, having a black coat with a white, V-shaped stripe on the back, and ejecting a fetid odor when alarmed or attacked.
any of several related or similar animals.: Compare hog-nosed skunk, spotted skunk.
Informal. a thoroughly contemptible person.
U.S. Navy Slang. an unidentified ship or target.
Slang. to defeat thoroughly in a game, especially while keeping an opponent from scoring: The team skunked the favorites in the crucial game.
Origin of skunk
1Words Nearby skunk
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use skunk in a sentence
Welcome to Florida, where a skunk ape sighting is just one of a host of crazy events that defined life in the Sunshine State during the 1970s.
Dave Shealy claims to have seen the ever-elusive skunk ape of Florida legend in 1974.
The skunk ape also, apparently, prefers hanging out in trees to lumbering around on the ground.
It smells like skunk, it’s the most pungent thing in the universe.
Despite all the jokes I made about turning into Cruella de Vil or the Bride of Frankenstein, seeing other women’s skunk stripes made mine feel a little less weird.
Some young women embraced their gray hair during the pandemic. They might not go back. | Maura Judkis | April 12, 2021 | Washington Post
The army met the stone-throwing with a fecal-smelling concoction called "skunk" and later with tear gas.
So how did this proverbial skunk at the garden party obtain his tickets to the events?
Sheppy had been having an argument with a skunk and there was strong reason—very strong—to suppose that he got the worst of it.
The Red Cow and Her Friends | Peter McArthurShe saw the natural skunk coat she had been planning to give to poor dear Caroline for Christmas.
Happy House | Betsey Riddle, Freifrau von Hutten zum StolzenbergA fine male antelope was shot by Lieut. Swift, and a skunk was also the game of the day.
"A particular —— skunk," added another in sepulchral accents.
Mrs. Skaggs's Husbands and Other Stories | Bret HarteEf it's that skunk, I'll spot him soon enough and let you know whar he's hiding.
Stories in Light and Shadow | Bret Harte
British Dictionary definitions for skunk
/ (skʌŋk) /
any of various American musteline mammals of the subfamily Mephitinae, esp Mephitis mephitis (striped skunk), typically having a black and white coat and bushy tail: they eject an unpleasant-smelling fluid from the anal gland when attacked
informal a despicable person
slang a strain of cannabis smoked for its exceptionally powerful psychoactive properties
(tr) US and Canadian slang to defeat overwhelmingly in a game
Origin of skunk
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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