: any of various common omnivorous black-and-white New World mammals (especially genus Mephitis) of the weasel family that have a pair of perineal glands from which a secretion of pungent and offensive odor is ejected
Noun
Her brother's a low-down, dirty skunk.
he's nothing but a dirty, rotten skunkVerb
we ended up skunking them, as our goalie was able to prevent the other team from scoring a single goal
our football team consistently skunks our traditional rivals Thanksgiving after Thanksgiving
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
On Sunday, May 26, Teigen told her Instagram followers that a skunk had stunk out their Beverly Hills property in several posts on her Instagram Stories.—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 28 May 2024 The same goes for crocodiles, caimans, any wild cat species like bobcats and lynxes, any wolves or wolf/dog hybrids, or native wild animals like raccoons, skunks and foxes.—Natalie Wallington, Kansas City Star, 24 May 2024
Verb
The premise was that the Minnesota Timberwolves were trying to reconnect in this series after getting skunked twice at home.—Troy Renck, The Denver Post, 15 May 2024 In a remarkable, odds-defying losing streak, the 67-year-old composer has been skunked on every nomination, including the past seven years in a row.—Tyler Coates, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Mar. 2024 See all Example Sentences for skunk
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'skunk.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
earlier squuncke, from a Massachusett reflex of Algonquian *šeka·kwa, from šek- urinate + -a·kw fox, fox-like animal
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