skink

1 of 2

verb

skinked; skinking; skinks

transitive verb

chiefly dialectal
: to draw, pour out, or serve (drink)

skink

2 of 2

noun

: any of a family (Scincidae) of typically small insectivorous lizards with long tapering bodies

Examples of skink in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
About This Episode The Grumpy Gardener helps a reader get over their fear of skinks. Steve Bender, Southern Living, 3 Aug. 2024 In roughly 335 years, about 100 of Australia’s unique plant and animal species have gone extinct, including the Christmas Island forest skink, and about 10 percent of the 320 land mammals known to have lived in Australia when European colonization began. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 5 June 2024 Snakes evolved from lizard ancestors, of course, but glass lizards, snake lizards, skinks, amphisbaenians and more are all lizards that lost their legs independently of each other. Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 May 2024 Genetic analysis revealed the skinks belonged to the species Ablepharus alaicus, which had been cited in historical literature but never confirmed to exist within the borders of China. Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 19 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for skink 

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Middle Dutch schenken; akin to Old English scencan to pour out drink and probably to scanca shank

Noun

Latin scincus, from Greek skinkos

First Known Use

Verb

1866, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1590, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of skink was in 1590

Dictionary Entries Near skink

Cite this Entry

“Skink.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skink. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

skink

noun
ˈskiŋk
: any of a family of mostly small lizards with smooth scales

More from Merriam-Webster on skink

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!