skunk

[ skuhngk ]

/ skʌŋk /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR skunk 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.

Nearby words

skull, skull and crossbones, skull session, skullcap, skullduggery, skunk, skunk cabbage, skunk river, skunk works, skunkweed, skunky

Origin of skunk

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

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

Examples from the Web for skunk

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
I had been a long time coming to my mind concerning the skunk.
The Face of the Fields|Dallas Lore Sharp
I remember my younger brother once ran across a skunk like this and he had to live in the barn for two days.
The Go Ahead Boys in the Island Camp|Ross Kay
I shouldn't think honey flavoured with skunk cabbage would be fit to eat.
The Harvester|Gene Stratton Porter

By this we mean, that ordinary people, other than naturalists or scientists, little understand the habits and value of skunk.
Fur Farming For Profit|Hermon Basil Laymon
The track of the skunk is peculiar and is not likely to be mistaken for that of some other animal.
Science of Trapping|Elmer Harry Kreps

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