Illustration of skunk
- skunk 1a
plural skunks also skunk
1
a
: 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
b
: the fur of a skunk
2
: an obnoxious or disliked person
Synonyms
Noun
- bastard
- beast
- bleeder [British]
- blighter [chiefly British]
- boor
- bounder
- bugger
- buzzard
- cad
- chuff
- churl
- clown
- creep
- cretin
- crud [slang]
- crumb [slang]
- cur
- dirtbag [slang]
- dog
- fink
- heel
- hound
- jerk
- joker
- louse
- lout
- pill
- rat
- rat fink
- reptile
- rotter
- schmuck [slang]
- scum
- scumbag [slang]
- scuzzball [slang]
- sleaze
- sleazebag [slang]
- sleazeball [slang]
- slime
- slimeball [slang]
- slob
- snake
- so-and-so
- sod [chiefly British]
- stinkard
- stinker
- swine
- toad
- varmint
- vermin
Verb
Examples of skunk in a Sentence
Noun
Her brother's a low-down, dirty skunk.
he's nothing but a dirty, rotten skunk
Verb
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
Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 23 May 2024
White marigolds and green onions are planted to help deter the skunks, raccoons and squirrels that like to pull out her dahlias.
—Lisa Boone, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2024
In the mid-1990s, Shealy began pursuing skunk ape lore, with dreams of spinning legend into gold.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 20 May 2024
Woodchuck tick: Also known as the groundhog tick, it is often found on pets near dens of skunks and woodchucks throughout the state.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press, 14 May 2024
The expert vet added that foxes and skunks were abundant after significant winter and summer rain across the state, making the environment ideal for these animals — and rabies — to thrive in the wild.
—Rey Covarrubias Jr., The Arizona Republic, 6 May 2024
Rabies is mostly found in wild animals like bats, raccoons, skunks and foxes, at least in the U.S. Dogs in other countries still carry rabies, with most rabies deaths in the world caused by dog bites, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
—Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 3 May 2024
Turtles, fish, birds, skunks, and raccoons enjoy feasting on the insect.
—Solcyré Burga, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
Activists found that the resort was trapping and killing wildlife, including skunks and possums.
—Christopher Elliott, USA TODAY, 15 Mar. 2024
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
There’s nothing worse than getting skunked and then stuck in the marsh with no cell service.
—Joe Genzel, Outdoor Life, 4 Nov. 2020
That means two out of three Minnesota turkey hunters are going skunked this spring.
—Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 21 Apr. 2022
But coastal Alabama didn’t get skunked, thanks to one listing in Fairhope and two in Orange Beach.
—Lawrence Specker | Lspecker@al.com, al, 12 July 2023
Mississippi also got skunked but Tennessee had two places on the list, Florida had five, Georgia had four.
—Lawrence Specker | Lspecker@al.com, al, 4 June 2023
View Photos But the GTS doesn't get skunked, either.
—Patrick Bedard, Car and Driver, 16 Apr. 2023
In lockstep with Marchand, he also was skunked on the power play in the 14 games.
—Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Apr. 2023
Noun
In that particular case, the hunters were able to toss branches toward the skunk and scare it off without getting sprayed.
—Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 23 May 2024
White marigolds and green onions are planted to help deter the skunks, raccoons and squirrels that like to pull out her dahlias.
—Lisa Boone, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2024
In the mid-1990s, Shealy began pursuing skunk ape lore, with dreams of spinning legend into gold.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 20 May 2024
Woodchuck tick: Also known as the groundhog tick, it is often found on pets near dens of skunks and woodchucks throughout the state.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press, 14 May 2024
The expert vet added that foxes and skunks were abundant after significant winter and summer rain across the state, making the environment ideal for these animals — and rabies — to thrive in the wild.
—Rey Covarrubias Jr., The Arizona Republic, 6 May 2024
Rabies is mostly found in wild animals like bats, raccoons, skunks and foxes, at least in the U.S. Dogs in other countries still carry rabies, with most rabies deaths in the world caused by dog bites, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
—Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 3 May 2024
Turtles, fish, birds, skunks, and raccoons enjoy feasting on the insect.
—Solcyré Burga, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
Activists found that the resort was trapping and killing wildlife, including skunks and possums.
—Christopher Elliott, USA TODAY, 15 Mar. 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
There’s nothing worse than getting skunked and then stuck in the marsh with no cell service.
—Joe Genzel, Outdoor Life, 4 Nov. 2020
That means two out of three Minnesota turkey hunters are going skunked this spring.
—Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 21 Apr. 2022
But coastal Alabama didn’t get skunked, thanks to one listing in Fairhope and two in Orange Beach.
—Lawrence Specker | Lspecker@al.com, al, 12 July 2023
Mississippi also got skunked but Tennessee had two places on the list, Florida had five, Georgia had four.
—Lawrence Specker | Lspecker@al.com, al, 4 June 2023
View Photos But the GTS doesn't get skunked, either.
—Patrick Bedard, Car and Driver, 16 Apr. 2023
In lockstep with Marchand, he also was skunked on the power play in the 14 games.
—Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Apr. 2023
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.
Dictionary Entries Near skunk
Cite this Entry
“Skunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skunk. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
skunk
1 of 2 noun
plural skunks also skunk
1
: any of various black-and-white North American mammals related to the weasels that give off a fluid with a sharp and unpleasant smell when threatened
2
: a mean hateful person
skunk
2 of 2 verb
: to defeat completely
especially
: to prevent entirely from scoring or succeeding : shut out
Etymology
Noun
from a word in Massachusett (an extinct Algonquian language spoken in Massachusetts)
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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