Definition of skunk noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

skunk

noun

/skʌŋk/

(North American English also polecat)

[countable] a small black and white North American animal that can produce a strong unpleasant smell to defend itself when it is attackedTopics Animalsc1

Definitions on the go

Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
[uncountable] (slang) skunkweed (= a strong type of cannabis)

Word Originmid 17th cent.: from Abnaki segankw; variants occur in many other American Indian dialects. Abnaki is a group of two extinct Algonquian languages.

Idioms

(as) drunk as a skunk (North American English)

(British English, old-fashioned (as) drunk as a lord)

(informal) very drunk

See skunk in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

Check pronunciation: skunk

Other results

All matches

Nearby words

apple

noun

From the Word list

Oxford 3000

Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day