1
: to emit a strong offensive odor
stank of urine
2
: to be offensive
the election stank of corruption
also
: to be in bad repute
3
: to possess something to an offensive degree
stinking with wealth
4
: to be extremely bad or unpleasant
the performance stank
that news really stinks
Synonyms
Examples of stink in a Sentence
Verb
The food is good at that restaurant, but the service stinks.
Having a root canal stinks.
Noun
People raised a stink about the new law.
He kicked up a stink about the way he'd been treated.
Recent Examples on the Web
A.d. Amorosi, Variety, 1 Nov. 2024
This league is better when the New York teams are better, and right now the Giants stink.
Follow me on Twitter.
—Jesse Reed, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024
Kristin Canning, WIRED, 14 Oct. 2024
In 2021, thousands of Los Angeles County residents living near the Dominguez Channel received vouchers to relocate after a warehouse fire caused a hydrogen sulfide stink.
—Jireh Deng, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for stink 
Verb
Smith has created an unrelentingly serious and sad work whose lyrics and arrangements stink of death, yet move as one – proactively, sensually — across eight long songs to create a universe unlike any this ensemble has attempted in the past.
—A.d. Amorosi, Variety, 1 Nov. 2024
This league is better when the New York teams are better, and right now the Giants stink.
Follow me on Twitter.
—Jesse Reed, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024
Noun
Best Lotion Photograph: Kristin Canning Sawyer 20 Percent DEET Premium Family Insect Repellent Controlled Release
$14 at Amazon
The DEET stink is still there, but the lotion formula feels more pleasant and less greasy to me than most sprays.
—Kristin Canning, WIRED, 14 Oct. 2024
In 2021, thousands of Los Angeles County residents living near the Dominguez Channel received vouchers to relocate after a warehouse fire caused a hydrogen sulfide stink.
—Jireh Deng, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for stink
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stink.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near stink
Cite this Entry
“Stink.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stink. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.
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