: 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
Kids will love the 30-minute Running Wild show, which brings a skunk, ringtail cat, porcupine, pelican and a few macaws on stage.—Laura Daniella Sepulveda, The Arizona Republic, 14 Aug. 2024 Then there's a fennec fox, a skunk, four prairie dogs, a ton of parrots, hornbills, toucans, cockatoos and a bunch of tortoises.—Angela Andaloro, Peoplemag, 13 Aug. 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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