I. ˈskəŋk noun
( plural skunks also skunk )
Etymology: of Algonquian origin; akin to Abnaki segãkw skunk
1.
a.
(1) : any of various common omnivorous New World mammals forming a subfamily of Mustelidae, showing typical warning coloration of brilliantly patterned black and white, and possessing a pair of muscular-walled perineal glands from which an intensely malodorous secretion is ejected when the animal is startled or in danger — see conepatus , mephitis , spilogale ; hog-nosed skunk , little spotted skunk , striped skunk
(2) : any of various offensive-smelling Old World animals (as the teledu or the zoril)
b. : the fur of a skunk
2. : a contemptible ill-mannered person — used as a generalized term of abuse
you're a low-down, foul-mouthed, impertinent skunk — Sinclair Lewis
3. : an unidentified surface target detected visually or by radar — compare bogey
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
1.
a. : to subject to defeat : inflict defeat upon
skunked the other candidate by a wide margin of votes
b. : to shut out (an opponent) in a game — compare lurch IV
2.
a. : to fail to pay (as a bill or a creditor)
made a practice of skunking hotels
b. : to deprive by or as if by cheating
a man … who has been skunked out of a summer vacation — Horace Sutton
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: skunk (II)
: shutout