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
  • Rain leaves behind standing water in puddles and containers, which female mosquitoes use to lay eggs.
    — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 20 Aug. 2026
  • About a mile away, Sharon Crouch, 76, drove a minivan down a winding road, where puddles of water submerged parts of Centenary Road.
    — Jen Guadarrama, IndyStar, 18 Aug. 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
  • This debris can get sucked into your ductwork or blown back into the house.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 16 Aug. 2026
  • The passenger sitting in that seat was partially sucked out of the plane, suffering serious injuries, the NTSB said.
    — Kris Van Cleave, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of sucked
Noun
  • From the lifeguard by the pool who’s been here for 30 years and taught most of the members’ children to swim, to the bright young team at the kids’ club.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Just across the street from the bus stop … lurks a deep drainage pool at the bottom of a sheer 12-foot drop from the street.
    — AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of pool
Verb
  • During a recent visit by the Tribune, East 100th Street outside Pullman Innovations smelled somewhere between rotten eggs and manure.
    — Finnegan Belleau, Chicago Tribune, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Xcel crews told fire officials that a nearby business had used a cleaning solution that smelled like propane gas.
    — Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 13 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 26 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
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 devolve

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

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

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

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

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Why do we say 'break a leg'?

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek
See More

Popular

See More

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

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
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
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All