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stinkhorn

American

[stingk-hawrn] / ˈstɪŋkˌhɔrn /

noun

any of various rank-smelling, brown-capped mushrooms of the genus Phallus, especially P. impudicus.

stinkhorn British

/ ˈstɪŋkˌhɔːn /

noun

any of various basidiomycetous saprotrophic fungi of the genus Phallus, such as P. impudicus, having an offensive odour

"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

Etymology

Origin of stinkhorn

First recorded in 1715–25; stink + horn

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.

This, it might surprise you, wouldn’t be my only run-in with the stinkhorn.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 16, 2025

Sadly, this has done nothing to help varieties such as slippery jack, stinkhorn or shaggy ink cap on to our dinner tables.

From The Guardian • Dec. 30, 2017

Posted by Stephen Your mushroom find is a stinkhorn.

From New York Times • Oct. 20, 2011

A new species of stinkhorn from Africa, Phallus drewesii, has been named in honour of the California Academy of Sciences herpetologist Dr Robert Drewes.

From The Guardian • May 23, 2010

Similarly the house-leek has been designated the "devil's beard," and a Norfolk name for the stinkhorn is "devil's horn."

From The Folk-lore of Plants by Dyer, T. F. Thiselton (Thomas Firminger Thiselton)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023