What does "skank" mean?
A lewd and disreputable person, often female, especially an unattractive person with an air of tawdry promiscuity.
Skank
/skæŋk/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A lewd and disreputable person, often female, especially an unattractive person with an air of tawdry promiscuity.
- Grammar: skank is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: crud, filth.
- Usage evidence: Whenever a slang word is heard, the youngsters note it, then write sentences which include the word. […]Hawk: to watch – as in “Man, that skank steady hawks me in school.”
How to use "skank"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "skank" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "skank" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "skank" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "skank" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
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- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "skank" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "crud" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "skank", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A lewd and disreputable person, often female, especially an unattractive person with an air of tawdry promiscuity. countable, derogatory, slang, uncountable
"Whenever a slang word is heard, the youngsters note it, then write sentences which include the word. […]Hawk: to watch – as in “Man, that skank steady hawks me in school.”"
- 2 A dance performed to ska, dub, or reggae music.
"[…]the ability to double up with contagious laughter; the feeling of pure child-like glee; and the mesmerizing, trance-like skank dancing that looks like African aerobics after centuries of rhythm."
- 3 The act of cheating a person.
"That's not a good deal; it's a skank."
- 4 a rhythmic dance to reggae music performed by bending forward and extending the hands while bending the knees wordnet
- 5 Anything that is particularly foul, unhygienic or unpleasant. countable, uncountable
"Virgins. I love 'em. No diseases, no loose as a goose pussy, no skank. No nothin'. Just pure pleasure."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A style of rhythmic guitar strumming in ska, reggae, and punk.
"A typical skank guitar rhythm: {\time3/4\tempo4=180\set Staff.midiInstrument=#"electric guitar (muted)"\repeat unfold2{r8a4}\repeat unfold2{r8g4"
- 7 any substance considered disgustingly foul or unpleasant wordnet
Verb
- 1 To dance the skank.
"Four-thousand miles away, there is a reggae night spot called Club 69, where local youth wear dreadlocks... and dance ska, rocksteady, and skank to the beats of the Wailers.... Club 69 is in Tokyo, the dread youths are Japanese."
- 2 To cheat, especially a friend. transitive
"He short-changed a partner, leaving him feeling skanked."
- 3 dance the skank wordnet
- 4 To play guitar with a skank rhythm.
"Joe Strummer and Mick Jones did a lot of skanking. Skanking refers to a style of playing using scratch (page 17) rhythms with a strong accent on the off-beats (1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &) rather than the on-beats."
- 5 To be dishonest or unreliable, to defraud or deceive, to steal. Jamaica, intransitive, transitive
"Only Tosh, Marley and Livingston had been signed, and Aston Barrett harboured an unarticulated resentment that later would be couched in the language of betrayal[…] In any event ‘Family Man’ believed that they had an oral agreement, and placed his faith in Marley (from whom they received their wages) that he would not skank them."
Adjective
- 1 Lewd, vulgar, skanky. derogatory, slang
""I wear provocative clothes because they make me feel sexy," Toni says without apology. "If an artist like Madonna is wearing her booty hanging out, she's considered a genius. But if a black person does it, we're considered skank whores or sluts.""
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Whenever a slang word is heard, the youngsters note it, then write sentences which include the word. […]Hawk: to watch – as in “Man, that skank steady hawks me in school.”"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "skank"?
Common synonyms include: crud, filth.
How do you use "skank" in a sentence?
Whenever a slang word is heard, the youngsters note it, then write sentences which include the word. […]Hawk: to watch – as in “Man, that skank steady hawks me in school.”
How do you pronounce "skank"?
Pronounced /skæŋk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Unknown. Perhaps from skag (“unattractive woman”), but the origins of skag are unknown. Compare scold (“troublesome woman”), skeevy (“disgusting”). Attested from the 1960s.
Etymology 2
Originally Jamaican, attested from the twentieth century, but earliest source is uncertain. The verb sense be dishonest is evidently older. Perhaps originally onomatopoeic. The dance senses may come from a resemblance to motorcyclists weaving between larger vehicles. Compare skanker.
Etymology 3
Slang word used in Northern England. Unknown. Perhaps from etymology 2, above; attested in West Indian and UK black slang from the twentieth century.