stink

Definition

To have a strong bad smell.

Etymology

From Middle English stinken, from Old English stincan, from Proto-Germanic *stinkwaną, from Proto-Indo-European *stengʷ-, *stegʷ- (“to push, thrust, strike”). Cognate with West Frisian stjonke (“to stink”), Dutch stinken (“to stink”), German stinken (“to stink”), Danish stinke (“to stink”), Swedish stinka (“to stink”), Icelandic stökkva (“to spring, leap, jump”).

Example Sentences

• "That movie stinks. I didn't even stay for the end."
• "They gave me Out of Africa, by Isak Dinesen. I thought it was going to stink, but it didn't. It was a very good book."
• "My French stinks, Langdon thought, but my zodiac iconography is pretty good. Taurus was always the bull. Astrology was a symbolic constant all over the world."