skunk

American  

[skuhngk] / skʌŋk /

noun

plural

skunks,

plural

skunk

1. 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.

2. any of several related or similar animals.

3. Informal. a thoroughly contemptible person.

4. U.S. Navy Slang. an unidentified ship or target.

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verb (used with object)

1. Slang. to defeat thoroughly in a game, especially while keeping an opponent from scoring.

   The team skunked the favorites in the crucial game.

skunk British  

/ skʌŋk /

noun

1. 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

2. informal a despicable person

3. slang a strain of cannabis smoked for its exceptionally powerful psychoactive properties

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verb

1. slang (tr) to defeat overwhelmingly in a game

Etymology

Origin of skunk

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

Example Sentences

I was like a dog that would go fetch Ms. W.’s stick, even if it was in a snake’s hole under a thorn bush that had just been sprayed by a skunk.

From Literature

“I had to,” Mom said, rubbing the skunk’s little forehead with her thumb.

From Literature

When it was ready, they’d pick a time to let loose with it, creating a stench so great it would scare the stripes off a skunk.

From Literature

They think hundreds of animals might have died—maybe deer, but certainly birds, rodents, skunks, opossums.

From Literature

Ford has been working on its own EV platform in the U.S. as part of its so-called skunk works project to build a $30,000 electric pickup.

From The Wall Street Journal