skunk

C2 Topic:Animals

US /skʌŋk/ UK /skʌŋk/ See IPA manual

Freq #11224

Meanings

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.
2

noun
a contemptible or thoroughly unpleasant person

He felt like a skunk after taking credit for his colleague's work.
3

noun
a strong-smelling, high-potency variety of cannabis

Police reported finding several bags of skunk in the vehicle.
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

Synonyms

2 noun · a contemptible or... scoundrellowlifestinkpot

3 noun · a strong-smelling,... cannabismarijuana

4 noun · a defeat in which the... shutout

Word family

Forms skunks

Derived forms deskunkskunkish

Related forms polecat musk cannabis

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.

Topics

Animals

External links

# skunk

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /skʌŋk/
**IPA (UK):** /skʌŋk/
**Frequency rank:** 11224

## Meanings
1. a small black-and-white American mammal that can spray a powerful-smelling defensive fluid
2. a contemptible or thoroughly unpleasant person
3. a strong-smelling, high-potency variety of cannabis
4. a defeat in which the losing side fails to score

## Examples
- A startled skunk sprayed beneath the porch and left the house smelling foul for days.
- He felt like a skunk after taking credit for his colleague's work.
- Police reported finding several bags of skunk in the vehicle.
- The team suffered its first skunk of the season, losing twelve to zero.

## Synonyms
- scoundrel
- lowlife
- stinkpot
- shutout

## Derived Forms
- deskunk
- skunkish

## Related Forms
- polecat
- musk
- cannabis

## 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.

## Topics
- Animals

markdown