Illustration of skunk
- skunk 1a
plural skunks also skunk
1
a
: any of various common omnivorous black-and-white New World mammals (family Mephitidae, especially genus Mephitis) related to weasels that have a pair of perineal glands from which a secretion of pungent and offensive odor is ejected
b
: the fur of a skunk
2
: an obnoxious or disliked person
Examples of skunk in a Sentence
Noun
Her brother's a low-down, dirty skunk.
he's nothing but a dirty, rotten skunk
Verb
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
Patrick Salland, Kansas City Star, 5 June 2025
Until then, the best chance to see them is at the skunk training demonstrations in The Loft at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
—Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 4 June 2025
Charlotte Alter, Time, 19 May 2025
Sam had a sudden flash of some decades old cartoon, an anthropomorphized rabbit or skunk with its jaw dropped, a foghorn like awooga accompanying the lolling of its cartoonishly long tongue.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for skunk
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
Wafting down the normally quiet halls were the sounds of whistles, shouting— and the unmistakable smell of a skunk.
—Patrick Salland, Kansas City Star, 5 June 2025
Until then, the best chance to see them is at the skunk training demonstrations in The Loft at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
—Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 4 June 2025
Verb
The party got skunked in every battleground state and lost the popular vote for the first time in 20 years.
—Charlotte Alter, Time, 19 May 2025
Sam had a sudden flash of some decades old cartoon, an anthropomorphized rabbit or skunk with its jaw dropped, a foghorn like awooga accompanying the lolling of its cartoonishly long tongue.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for skunk
Cite this Entry
“Skunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skunk. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
skunk
1 of 2 noun
plural skunks also skunk
1
: any of various black-and-white North American mammals related to the weasels that give off a fluid with a sharp and unpleasant smell when threatened
2
: a mean hateful person
skunk
2 of 2 verb
: to defeat completely
especially
: to prevent entirely from scoring or succeeding : shut out
Etymology
Noun
from a word in Massachusett (an extinct Algonquian language spoken in Massachusetts)
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share