stunk

/stʌŋk/

//stʌŋk// verb

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

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

The verdict

“stunk” is uncommon English (frequency #60,495 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#60,495
frequency rank, English
54,294
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - simple past and past participle of stink

Key facts for stunk
PropertyValue
Headwordstunk
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/stʌŋk/
Letters5
Frequency rank#60,495
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “stunk” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). stunk lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

stunk is uncommon English at frequency #60,495 among 54,294 “S” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /stʌŋk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "simple past and past participle of stink".

stunk has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is stunk, spelled S-T-U-N-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of stink

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 "stunk"?
"stunk" is spelled S-T-U-N-K. The IPA pronunciation is /stʌŋk/.
What does "stunk" mean?
As a verb, "stunk" means: simple past and past participle of stink
How do you pronounce "stunk"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stunk" is /stʌŋk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "stunk" come from?
"stunk" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

Using “stunk”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-T-U-N-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /stʌŋk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list