stank 1 of 2

noun

ˈstaŋk How to pronounce stank (audio)
Definition of stanknext
British dialect
as in puddle
a small often deep body of water the Scottish innkeeper advised swimming in the nearby stank only if the prospect of hypothermia seemed appealing

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

stank

2 of 2

verb

variants or stunk
past tense of stink
1
as in reeked
to give off an extremely unpleasant smell the dog stinks because she tangled with a skunk again

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in sucked
to be objectionable or unsatisfactory their team really stinks this year

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of stank
Verb
Nikola Jokic stunk in Game 3 on Thursday in Minneapolis. — Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 24 Apr. 2026 And after a decade without postseason play in town, few fans have been brave enough to suggest the team should have intentionally stunk again instead. — Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 14 Apr. 2026 Younger players either watched or didn’t improve as the Raiders stunk on ice. — Vic Tafur, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2026 Dolphins have stunk lately in weather like this. — Greg Cote january 1, Miami Herald, 1 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stank
  1. puddle
  2. reeked
  3. sucked
  4. pool
  5. smelled
Noun
  • About halfway up, the orange-and-black butterflies had begun appearing in groups, alighting on flowers or gathering to sip water from puddles.
    — Vann R. Newkirk II, The Atlantic, 28 July 2026
  • Some of it had escaped through a gash in her shin, forming a small gray-pink puddle by her ankle that gave off an astringent smell.
    — John Semley, Harpers Magazine, 28 July 2026
Definition of puddle
Verb
  • The Mystic of my childhood, though, had a modicum of edge — kids with anarchy symbols on their jackets skateboarded outside a coffee shop that reeked of weed, and locals got rowdy at a dysfunctional watering hole called the Draw Bridge Inne.
    — Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 31 July 2026
  • But the next three years reeked of alpha decay—the firm’s average yearly gain slumped from eighteen per cent to nine.
    — Gary Sernovitz, New Yorker, 15 June 2026
Definition of reeked
Verb
  • On the bridge, Sam taunts his brother before getting sucked out a hole in the observation window, graphically.
    — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 30 July 2026
  • Often, compositions came from MacLeod watching a YouTube video, thinking the music sucked, then trying to make something more suitable.
    — Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 30 July 2026
Definition of sucked
Noun
  • One video, first shared with The Miami Hurricane by a person who wants to remain anonymous, appears to show a man being pushed into a pool while his pants are on fire.
    — Abby Dodge, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026
  • One solution that came from readers of this column was to put up a flag whenever the pool was open and take it down whenever guests weren’t welcome.
    — R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of pool
Verb
  • Incident reports show there was also a burn barrel which smelled of decomposition.
    — Nikki Battiste, CBS News, 9 Aug. 2026
  • The veal barn had a smell Birdie had never smelled anywhere else—antiseptic, then sweet like a flower and rotten like manure.
    — Rachel Yoder, New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of smelled

Browse Nearby Words

stanhopes
stank
stanks
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Stank.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stank. Accessed 12 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on stank

Nglish: Translation of stank for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gnomic

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

'Gaslighting,' 'Woke,' 'Democracy,' and Other Top Lookups
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All