stink

American  

[stingk] / stɪŋk /

verb (used without object)

stinks, present (3rd person singular) stunk, past participle, past stank, past stinking present participle

1. to emit a strong offensive smell.

   Synonyms:

   reek

2. to be offensive to honesty or propriety; to be in extremely bad repute or disfavor.

3. Informal. to be disgustingly inferior.

   That book stinks.

4. Slang. to have a large quantity of something (usually followed by of orwith ).

   They stink of money. She stinks with jewelry.

---

verb (used with object)

stinks, present (3rd person singular) stunk, past participle, past stank, past stinking present participle

1. to cause to stink or be otherwise offensive (often followed byup ).

   an amateurish performance that really stank up the stage.

noun

stinks plural

1. a strong offensive smell; stench.

2. Informal. an unpleasant fuss; scandal.

   There was a big stink about his accepting a bribe.

3. (used with a singular verb) stinks, chemistry as a course of study.

verb phrase

1. stink out to repel or drive out by means of a highly offensive smell.

stink British  

/ stɪŋk /

noun

1. a strong foul smell; stench

2. slang a great deal of trouble (esp in the phrase to make or raise a stink )

3. intensely; furiously

---

verb

1. to emit a foul smell

2. slang to be thoroughly bad or abhorrent

   this town stinks

3. informal to have a very bad reputation

   his name stinks

4. to be of poor quality

5. slang to have or appear to have an excessive amount (of money)

6. informal to cause to stink

stink Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing stink

• big stink
• make a stink
• smell (stink) up

---

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• stinks
  plural

Participles

• stinking
  present
• stunk
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• stink
  simple
• stinks
  simple
• have stunk
  perfect
• has stunk
  perfect
• am stinking
  progressive
• are stinking
  progressive
• is stinking
  progressive
• have been stinking
  perfect progressive
• has been stinking
  perfect progressive

Past

• stank
  simple
• stunk
  simple
• had stunk
  perfect
• was stinking
  progressive
• were stinking
  progressive
• had been stinking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will stink
  simple
• will have stunk
  perfect
• will be stinking
  progressive
• will have been stinking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of stink

First recorded before 900; (verb) Middle English stinken, Old English stincan; (noun) Middle English, derivative of the verb; cognate with German stinken (verb); cf. stench

Explanation

When things stink, they smell terrible. If you throw food scraps in your kitchen trash can, it will eventually start to stink. You can say that something stinks — your dog's breath, or your brother's feet — and you can call the offensive odor itself a stink. Figuratively, something can stink even if it doesn't literally smell bad: "I'm sorry, but that movie you recommended really stinks. It's awful." The Old English root is stincan, "emit a smell of any kind, or exhale."

Example Sentences

Stink bugs get their name because of a smell they release to protect themselves from being eaten.

From NewsForKids.net • Apr. 15, 2024

"Similar to the Great Stink, events of foul smell atmosphere causing discomfort to residents have been observed with the increased occurrence, especially with warmer temperatures and heatwaves causing increased bacterial enzyme activities," Mishra pointed out.

From Salon • Jul. 25, 2023

The smell was dubbed the Great Stink, and carbolic acid, another disinfectant, was poured into the river to alleviate the problem.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

The Great Stink never garnered the notoriety of London’s Great Fire or Great Plague, although we can at least thank the stench for inspiring the invention of the modern sewage system.

From Slate • Jul. 15, 2022

“I need to visit Zonko’s. Fm nearly out of Stink Pellets.”

From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling

Related Words

• stench