Adjacent Words

Skunk definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SKUNK, n. In America, the popular name of a fetid animal of the weasel kind; the Viverra Mephitis of Linne.
SKUNK'-CABBAGE,
SKUNK'-WEED, n. A plant vulgarly so called, the Tetodes fatidus, so named from its smell.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible; "only a rotter would do that"; "kill the rat"; "throw the bum out"; "you cowardly little pukes!"; "the British call a contemptible person a `git'" [syn: rotter, dirty dog, rat, skunk, stinker, stinkpot, bum, puke, crumb, lowlife, scum bag, so-and-so, git]
2: a defeat in a game where one side fails to score [syn: shutout, skunk]
3: street names for marijuana [syn: pot, grass, green goddess, dope, weed, gage, sess, sens, smoke, skunk, locoweed, Mary Jane]
4: American musteline mammal typically ejecting an intensely malodorous fluid when startled; in some classifications put in a separate subfamily Mephitinae [syn: skunk, polecat, wood pussy] v
1: defeat by a lurch [syn: lurch, skunk]

Merriam Webster's

geographical name river 264 miles (425 kilometers) SE Iowa flowing SE into Mississippi River

Merriam Webster's

I. noun (plural skunks; also skunk) Etymology: earlier squuncke, from a Massachusett reflex of Algonquian *šeka•kwa, from šek- urinate + -a•kw fox, fox-like animal Date: 1634 1. a. 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 b. the fur of a skunk 2. an obnoxious or disliked person II. transitive verb Date: 1843 1. a. defeat b. to prevent entirely from scoring or succeeding ; shut out 2. to fail to pay; also cheat

Britannica Concise

Any of several black-and-white New World species in the carnivore family Mustelidae that eject an odoriferous liquid (as far as 12 ft, or 3.7 m) when threatened. The liquid becomes a fine mist which causes tearing of the eyes and choking. Scent-gland secretions are used in perfume. Species vary in color pattern and size. Most are 18-37 in. (46-93 cm) long, incl. the bushy tail, and weigh 2-13 lbs (1-6 kg); the two species of spotted skunk (genus Spilogale) are much smaller. Skunks eat rodents, insects, eggs, birds, and plants. The striped, or common, skunk (Mephitis mephitis) occurs in most of N. America. The seven species of hog-nosed skunk (genus Conepatus) have a long, naked snout. The hooded skunk (Mephitis macroura) has a neck ruff. The common skunks are nocturnal feeders. With the scent glands removed, they are sometimes kept as pets.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a any of various cat-sized flesh-eating mammals of the family Mustelidae, esp. Mephitis mephitis having a distinctive black and white striped fur and able to emit a powerful stench from a liquid secreted by its anal glands as a defence. b its fur. 2 colloq. a thoroughly contemptible person. --v.tr. 1 US sl. defeat. 2 fail to pay (a bill etc.). Phrases and idioms: skunk-bear US a wolverine. skunk-cabbage US a herbaceous plant, Lysichiton americanum, with an offensive-smelling spathe. Etymology: Amer. Ind. segankw, segongw

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Skunk Skunk, v. t. In games of chance and skill: To defeat (an opponent) (as in cards) so that he fails to gain a point, or (in checkers) to get a king. [Colloq. U. S.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Skunk Skunk, n. [Contr. from the Abenaki (American Indian) seganku.] (Zo["o]l.) Any one of several species of American musteline carnivores of the genus Mephitis and allied genera. They have two glands near the anus, secreting an extremely fetid liquid, which the animal ejects at pleasure as a means of defense. Note: The common species of the Eastern United States (Mephitis mephitica) is black with more or less white on the body and tail. The spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius), native of the Southwestern United States and Mexico, is smaller than the common skunk, and is variously marked with black and white. Skunk bird, Skunk blackbird (Zo["o]l.), the bobolink; -- so called because the male, in the breeding season, is black and white, like a skunk. Skunk cabbage (Bot.), an American aroid herb (Symplocarpus f[oe]tidus>) having a reddish hornlike spathe in earliest spring, followed by a cluster of large cabbagelike leaves. It exhales a disagreeable odor. Also called swamp cabbage. Skunk porpoise. (Zo["o]l.) See under Porpoise.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(skunks) A skunk is a small black and white animal which releases an unpleasant smelling liquid if it is frightened or attacked. Skunks live in America. N-COUNT

Moby Thesaurus

Cape polecat, animal, ape, bar, bear, beast, beat, blank, bulldoze, cavy, chimp, chimpanzee, clobber, coon, cream, cur, defeat utterly, dog, drub, ferret, foumart, glutton, groundhog, guinea pig, hedgehog, hound, hyena, insect, lambaste, larrup, lick, mongrel, monk, monkey, mousehound, opossum, overbear, overwhelm, paste, pig, polecat, porcupine, possum, prairie dog, prick, quill pig, raccoon, reptile, rotten egg, schmear, scum, serpent, shellac, shit, shithead, shut out, smear, snake, snow under, steamroller, stink ball, stink bomb, stinkard, stinker, stinkpot, swine, thrash, toad, turd, varmint, vermin, viper, warning sign, weasel, whelm, whelp, whistle-pig, whitewash, whomp, whop, wolverine, woodchuck, worm, zoril