mink

[mingk]

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noun, plural minks, (especially collectively) mink.

a semiaquatic weasellike animal of the genus Mustela, especially the North American M. vison.

the fur of this animal, brownish in the natural state and having lustrous outside hairs and a thick, soft undercoat.

a coat, stole, etc., made of this fur.

Nearby words

Origin of mink

1425–75; late Middle English, of uncertain origin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mink

This past January, the idea of MINK came to Choi—the concept, from thought to finished product, took roughly a month.
This 3-D Printer Can Change Fashion's Diversity Problem|Erin Cunningham|June 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One 1918 example, in wispy silk chiffon and lace is even trimmed in mink!
What Lies Beneath: How Lingerie Got Sexy|Raquel Laneri|June 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
How cold does it have to be to justify one of their mink dresses?
New York Fashion Week: Top-Trends Roundup|Robin Givhan|February 17, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The mink, nothing daunted, crouched again, in readiness for whatever that something might be.
Red Fox|Charles G. D. Roberts

Presently, a mink came out where poor Bunny first appeared—nose to the ground, and hunting like a ferret.
Two Years in Oregon|Wallis Nash
Some dogs will not run mink unless especially trained while others take naturally to mink hunting.
Hunting Dogs|Oliver Hartley
Mink are great travelers, but each individual animal has his regular route and seldom ventures far out of his course.
Fur Farming|A. R. Harding
I smoked an inexpensive cigar; Mink lit a more pretentious one.
Police!!!|Robert W. Chambers

British Dictionary definitions for mink

mink

noun plural mink or minks

any of several semiaquatic musteline mammals of the genus Mustela, of Europe, Asia, and North America, having slightly webbed feet

the highly valued fur of these animals, esp that of the American mink (M. vison)

a garment made of this, esp a woman's coat or stole

Word Origin for mink

C15: from Scandinavian; compare Danish mink, Swedish mänk

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for mink

mink

early 15c., "skin or fur of the mink," from a Scandinavian source (cf. Swedish menk "a stinking animal in Finland"). Applied in English to the animal itself from 1620s.