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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
That's a stinker for Toffees boss David Moyes, because Ndiaye in particular is so influential - and he is in my fantasy football team too.
From BBC ● Dec. 18, 2025
The judges did admirable work laying out the historical record, saying, “This is a stinker, this is a loser.”
From Slate ● Dec. 8, 2025
Yamamoto had his second-worst stinker as a Dodger, surpassed by only his fumble of the division series opener last season against the Padres.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2025
“I wouldn’t spend two more seconds thinking about what happened in that game,” Harbaugh said of Herbert’s four-interception stinker in a loss to the Houston Texas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 15, 2025
Some at the table laughed, and the alleged stinker looked up at me.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
Never mind that DC Studios had, at the time, released several stinkers already.
From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026
And yes, he helped write some serious stinkers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2025
Fantasy fans were a bit frantic after Jefferson’s two straight stinkers, but he eased all concerns in London.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 5, 2022
"There's no-one else who's got their dad in the stadium calling the race. I've had so many stinkers where he's been calling it that it's nice to have this."
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2022
"What is it you want? You're looking very flushed and flustered this morning. What's the matter with you? Have those little stinkers been flicking spitballs at you?"
From "Matilda" by Roald Dahl
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.
