stank 1 of 2

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

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stank

2 of 2

verb

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

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2
as in sucked
to be objectionable or unsatisfactory their team really stinks this year

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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
The Dolphins in their 33-8 loss in Indy stunk like Limburger cheese left in a car trunk. Miami Herald, 16 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stank
Noun
  • Steer clear of puddles - Driving into puddles or low areas of rainwater can cause vehicles to hydroplane or skid out of control.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 27 Oct. 2025
  • And not having to filter out bugs and debris from a shallow puddle is also rare.
    Joan Meiners, AZCentral.com, 27 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The cafeteria smelled the same.
    Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2025
  • The sergeant noted at least 12 bruises alone were found on the boy from the forehead down to the jaw on both sides of Campbell's face and that the child smelled overwhelmingly like urine.
    Adrienne Davis, jsonline.com, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Every red and blue photon gets sucked into a plant for photosynthesis, just the green ones ricocheting through the understory to form a kind of therapeutic light bath.
    Rowan Jacobsen, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
  • His frequent use of direct-to-camera narration initially seems like a cloying misstep (mostly because so many other movies have sucked the fun out of that device).
    David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 17 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • More than 20 televisions will show football and sports with live music, pool tables and a central horseshoe bar.
    Andy Humbles, Nashville Tennessean, 27 Oct. 2025
  • There’s also a pool and spa, sports court, fireplace, guest house, gym, wine cellar, two-car garage and several sitting and dining areas.
    Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 26 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The bathroom reeked of mold, its windowless walls preventing damp towels from ever fully drying.
    Jeanne Malle, Air Mail, 4 Oct. 2025
  • What initially reeked of hometown fantasy appears to have real legs.
    Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 22 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Stank.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stank. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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