skunk

/skʌŋk/

//skʌŋk// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"skunk" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“skunk” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #25,578. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#25,578
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of various small mammals, of most genera of the family Mephitidae, native to North and Central America, having a glossy black with a white coat and two musk glands at the base of the tail for e...

Corpus desk

Index EN-skunk · skunk · English

skunk · rank #25,578 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #25,578
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sine

Nearest frequency peer: sine (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “skunk”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “skunk” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

skunk vs sun
60% similar
skunk vs suck
60% similar
skunk vs sung
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for skunk
PropertyValue
Headwordskunk
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/skʌŋk/
Letters5
Frequency rank#25,578
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “skunk”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).skunklands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “sine” (#25,577), “sloth” (#25,579), “slowdown” (#25,580). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “skunk” is #25,578. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around skunk (IPA /skʌŋk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #25,578 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for skunk, with forms such as "ksunk", "skkunk", and "sknuk". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "sun", "suck", "sung", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From an unattested Southern New England Algonquian word, cognate with Abenaki segôgw, segonku (“he who squirts (musk) / urinates”), from Proto-Algonquian *šeka·kwa, from *šek- (“to urinate”). Doublet of Chicago. The correct English form is skunk, spelled S-K-U-N-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of various small mammals, of most genera of the family Mephitidae, native to North and Central America, having a glossy black with a white coat and two musk glands at the base of the tail for emitting a noxious smell as a defensive measure.
  2. 2
    A despicable person.
  3. 3
    Anything very bad; a stinker.
  4. 4
    A walkover victory in sports or board games, as when the opposing side is unable to score.
  5. 5
    A win by thirty or more points. (A double skunk is sixty or more, a triple skunk ninety or more.)

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how skunk appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The beaſts of offence be Squunckes, Ferrets, Foxes, vvhoſe impudence ſometimes drives them to the good vvives Hen rooſt, to fill their Paunch: ſome of theſe be blacke; their furre is of much eſteeme.
  2. In fact, the term he applied to this species of human being was "skunk," and he used it freely.

Etymology

From an unattested Southern New England Algonquian word, cognate with Abenaki segôgw, segonku (“he who squirts (musk) / urinates”), from Proto-Algonquian *šeka·kwa, from *šek- (“to urinate”). Doublet of Chicago.

This word in other languages

mofeta(Español)mouffette(Français)Stinktier(Deutsch)gambá(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ksunk
  • skkunk
  • sknuk
  • skukn
  • skunkk
  • skunnk
  • sskunk
  • suknk

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of skunk - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ksunk2skkunk1sknuk2skukn2skunkk1skunnk1sskunk1suknk2
Edit distance from "skunk"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "skunk"?
"skunk" is spelled S-K-U-N-K. The IPA pronunciation is /skʌŋk/.
What does "skunk" mean?
As a noun, "skunk" means: Any of various small mammals, of most genera of the family Mephitidae, native to North and Central America, having a glossy black with a white coat and two musk glands at the base of the tail for e...
What words are commonly confused with "skunk"?
"skunk" is commonly confused with "sun", "suck", "sung". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "skunk"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "skunk" is /skʌŋk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "skunk"?
From an unattested Southern New England Algonquian word, cognate with Abenaki segôgw, segonku (“he who squirts (musk) / urinates”), from Proto-Algonquian *šeka·kwa, from *šek- (“to urinate”). Doublet of Chicago. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "skunk", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

sloth#25,579sheik#25,572scant#25,564spoof#25,592

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

sensei8 variantsrebuke8 variantsprays8 variantsTopeka8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list