STINK
What does "STINK" mean?
To give off a strong, unpleasant smell.
Meanings
- To emit a strong and offensive odour. The garbage had begun to stink in the heat.
- To be of very low quality or thoroughly bad. The plan stinks - we need a better one. informal
- A strong foul smell. The stink of low tide filled the harbour.
- A public fuss or commotion over something objectionable. The decision raised quite a stink at the meeting. informal
Did you know?
- Stink once meant simply 'to smell' - in Old English you could 'stink' of roses, with no insult intended, before the word soured into purely bad odours.
Word origin
From Old English 'stincan', which originally meant simply 'to emit a smell' - good or bad - before narrowing to bad odours over the centuries.
Remember it
STINK is STING with an extra notch - both sting your senses, but this one goes through your nose.
A little poem
Low tide breathing out-
the harbour confesses all
the sea swallowed whole.
haiku
Wordplay
- My friend said my essay stinks. I told him that's impossible - it's about flowers.
What it teaches
A word can rot the way fruit does - 'stink' once smelled of roses before time soured its meaning.
Quick facts
What does STINK mean?
To give off a strong, unpleasant smell.
Is STINK a valid word?
Yes — STINK is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is STINK?
STINK has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does STINK come from?
From Old English 'stincan', which originally meant simply 'to emit a smell' - good or bad - before narrowing to bad odours over the centuries.
What can STINK teach us?
A word can rot the way fruit does - 'stink' once smelled of roses before time soured its meaning.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.