stinker
Americannoun
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a person or thing that stinks.
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Informal. a mean or despicable person; louse.
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Informal. something, especially some form of entertainment, of inferior quality.
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Informal. something difficult.
a real stinker of a crossword puzzle.
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any device emitting an offensive odor, as a stink bomb or stinkpot.
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Dialect. any of several large petrels.
noun
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a person or thing that stinks
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slang a difficult or very unpleasant person or thing
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slang something of very poor quality
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informal any of several fulmars or related birds that feed on carrion
Etymology
Origin of stinker
1600–10; 1920–25 stinker for def. 2; stink + -er 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Darnold is long overdue for another stinker, and it will happen here against a Mike Vrabel-coached defense that will simply outsmart him and defensive-minded Seahawks’ coach Mike Macdonald.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2026
When was the last time you had a conversation with someone about Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz’s 2010 stinker, “Knight and Day”?
From Salon • Jan. 6, 2026
Bournemouth were impressive at Molineux on Saturday but Wolves did not half make things easy for them, and their goalkeeper Jose Sa had a real stinker.
From BBC • Dec. 2, 2024
The Trojans had their second-worst shooting night of the season at 37.9%, trailing only the 28.8% stinker against UC Irvine.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 11, 2024
Some at the table laughed, and the alleged stinker looked up at me.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
