Meanings
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1
noun
a small black-and-white American mammal that can spray a powerful-smelling defensive fluid
A startled skunk sprayed beneath the porch and left the house smelling foul for days.
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2
noun
a contemptible or thoroughly unpleasant person
He felt like a skunk after taking credit for his colleague's work.
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3
noun
a strong-smelling, high-potency variety of cannabis
Police reported finding several bags of skunk in the vehicle.
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4
noun
a defeat in which the losing side fails to score
The team suffered its first skunk of the season, losing twelve to zero.
Thesaurus
Etymology
Borrowed in the seventeenth century from a Southern New England Algonquian language; it is cognate with Abenaki segogw and ultimately refers to the animal's spraying of musk. The insulting sense arose from the animal's notorious odor.