: 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
The entry fee for the skunk is $10 for one and additional $5 for other skunks.cleveland, 3 Sep. 2022 Start your skunk stripe journey today, and shop the essentials below. Danielle Sinay, Glamour, 27 July 2022 Raye also had some of her buzzing problems taken care of by a hungry skunk. Bethany Brookshire, Good Housekeeping, 18 June 2022 Surprisingly, the skunk didn't attack the deputy with its odor the entire time!USA TODAY, 22 June 2022 And Venezuela is always the skunk at the picnic, with President Nicolas Maduro shunned at most international gatherings. Tracy Wilkinsonstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 5 May 2022 For the third time in as many weeks, a resident reported seeing what appeared to be a sick skunk, this one just after 8 p.m. April 5. Thomas Jewell, cleveland, 14 Apr. 2022 Madagascar's skunk anemonefish will make fighting sounds different from anemonefish in Indonesia. Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Feb. 2022 Not the threat of a music festival, or Fourth of July fireworks, or rogue dogs and volleyballs, or high lake levels and gnarly storms — not even a skunk — could stop Chicago’s Great Lakes piping plovers from propagating. Chicago Tribune Staff, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2022
Verb
From the long, layered butterfly haircut to edgy skunk stripe hair, TikTok hair trends are everywhere—and likely will be for a while. Danielle Sinay, Glamour, 17 Aug. 2022 Despite its cheeky name, skunk stripe hair has little to do with Pepé Le Pew. Danielle Sinay, Glamour, 27 July 2022 Jacobson, an officer with the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office in Rochester, found a baby skunk on the road that appeared to be dehydrated.USA TODAY, 22 June 2022 Javelinas are also known as peccaries or skunk pigs. Elisha Fieldstadt, NBC News, 11 Apr. 2022 The federation says the rare animal also has a colorful array of nicknames, including woods devil, Indian devil, nasty cat and skunk bear. Stephen Smith, CBS News, 16 Mar. 2022 The one or two seasons when I was skunked came on the heels of hard winters. Ben Long, Outdoor Life, 6 Mar. 2020 The Broncos go out in style by skunking the silver and black as Drew Lock throws four touchdowns. Ryan O’halloran, The Denver Post, 28 Dec. 2019 Georgia skunked Missouri 27-0 last week, but Tigers quarterback Kelly Bryant didn’t play because of an injury. Joseph Goodman, al, 14 Nov. 2019 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun
earlier squuncke, from a Massachusett reflex of Algonquian *šeka·kwa, from šek- urinate + -a·kw fox, fox-like animal