plural mink or minks
1
: soft fur or pelt of the mink varying in color from white to dark brown
2
: either of two slender-bodied semiaquatic carnivorous mammals (Neogale vison of North America and Mustela lutreola of Eurasia) of the weasel family that have partially webbed feet, a rather short bushy tail, and a soft thick coat

Illustration of mink

Illustration of mink
  • mink 2

Examples of mink in a Sentence

a coat made of mink women wearing expensive jewelry and minks
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.
Ksenia, whom Baranov meets at a hedonistic party in the early 1990s as counterculturals rage amid the dawn of a new, post-USSR Russian era, is indicated as a grifting wild thing, the type who always has a mysterious male benefactor to keep her in minks. Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 31 Aug. 2025 On the smaller side, species like the river otter and mink can be found feasting on fish by the water’s edge, while lucky visitors may catch a glimpse of a wolverine roaming the tundra—and these are far from the only predators that call Katmai home. Jared Ranahan, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025 Its voraciousness has threatened native populations of minks, muskrats, and river otters. Nathaniel Rich, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025 On the runway, several iterations were displayed in materials ranging from leather, shearling and satin, to mink, swakara and eel. Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 3 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for mink

Word History

Etymology

Middle English

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of mink was in the 15th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Mink.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mink. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

mink

noun
plural mink or minks
: either of two flesh-eating mammals that resemble the related weasels, have a slender body, partly webbed feet, and a somewhat bushy tail, and live near water
also : the soft normally dark brown fur of a mink

More from Merriam-Webster on mink

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