skunk

[ skuhngk ]

/ skʌŋk /

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See synonyms for: skunk / skunked / skunking on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural skunks, (especially collectively) 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.

verb (used with object)

Slang. to defeat thoroughly in a game, especially while keeping an opponent from scoring: The team skunked the favorites in the crucial game.

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Origin of skunk

1625–35, Americanism;< the Massachusett reflex of Proto-Algonquian *šeka·kwa (derivative of *šek- urinate + -a·kw fox, foxlike animal

Words nearby skunk

skull, skull and crossbones, skullcap, skullduggery, skull session, skunk, skunk cabbage, Skunk River, skunkweed, Skunk Works, skunky

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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.
Florida Like You’ve Never Seen It|Stephen Starr|August 27, 2021|Ozy
Dave Shealy claims to have seen the ever-elusive skunk ape of Florida legend in 1974.
Florida Like You’ve Never Seen It|Stephen Starr|August 27, 2021|Ozy
The skunk ape also, apparently, prefers hanging out in trees to lumbering around on the ground.
Florida Like You’ve Never Seen It|Stephen Starr|August 27, 2021|Ozy
It smells like skunk, it’s the most pungent thing in the universe.
Can I have a pet fox?|empire|July 1, 2021|Popular-Science

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.
After Victory, Palestinian Village Runs Into A Wall|Ali Gharib|April 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
So how did this proverbial skunk at the garden party obtain his tickets to the events?
Erasing Dan Rather|Lloyd Grove|September 16, 2009|DAILY BEAST
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 McArthur
She 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 Stolzenberg
A fine male antelope was shot by Lieut. Swift, and a skunk was also the game of the day.
Early Western Travels 1748-1846, Volume XVI|Various
"A particular —— skunk," added another in sepulchral accents.
Mrs. Skaggs's Husbands and Other Stories|Bret Harte
Ef 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

skunk

/ (skʌŋk) /

noun plural skunks or skunk

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

verb

(tr) US and Canadian slang to defeat overwhelmingly in a game

Word Origin for skunk

C17: from Algonquian; compare Abnaki segākw skunk

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

skunk

Origin of skunk

Words nearby skunk

Words related to skunk

How to use skunk in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for skunk

Word Origin for skunk