skank
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skank¹
- /ˈskæŋk/
- [ˈskæŋk]
- /ˈskeɪ̯ŋk/ Canada, US
- [ˈskeɪ̯ŋk] Canada, US
- /ˈskɛ̃ŋk/ Canada, US
- [ˈskɛ̃ŋk] Canada, US
Rhymes with -æŋk
Where it comes from
Unknown. Perhaps from skag (“unattractive woman”), but the origins of skag are unknown. Compare scold (“troublesome woman”), skeevy (“disgusting”). Attested from the 1960s.
noun skanks
-
A lewd and disreputable person, often female, especially an unattractive person with an air of tawdry promiscuity.
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.”
Similar: promiscuous woman
- Anything that is particularly foul, unhygienic or unpleasant. Virgins. I love 'em. No diseases, no loose as a goose pussy, no skank. No nothin'. Just pure pleasure.
adjective more skank · most skank
- Lewd, vulgar, skanky. "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."
- Foul, unhygienic. You can even be a wee bit more skank and don a dirty shirt. Unwashed underwear, however, is a no-go.
skank²
- /ˈskæŋk/
- [ˈskæŋk]
- /ˈskeɪ̯ŋk/ Canada, US
- [ˈskeɪ̯ŋk] Canada, US
- /ˈskɛ̃ŋk/ Canada, US
- [ˈskɛ̃ŋk] Canada, US
Rhymes with -æŋk
Where it comes from
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.
noun skanks
- 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.
- 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
verb skanks · skanking · skanked
- 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.
- 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.
- To be dishonest or unreliable, to defraud or deceive, to steal. 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
skank³
- /ˈskæŋk/
- [ˈskæŋk]
- /ˈskeɪ̯ŋk/ Canada, US
- [ˈskeɪ̯ŋk] Canada, US
- /ˈskɛ̃ŋk/ Canada, US
- [ˈskɛ̃ŋk] Canada, US
Rhymes with -æŋk
Where it comes from
Slang word used in Northern England. Unknown. Perhaps from etymology 2, above; attested in West Indian and UK black slang from the twentieth century.
noun skanks
- The act of cheating a person. That's not a good deal; it's a skank.
verb skanks · skanking · skanked
- To cheat or betray, especially a friend. He short-changed a partner, leaving him feeling skanked.
- To steal, or otherwise acquire underhandedly. of course, maybe somebody that works at the factory where it was pressed could have skanked a few copies...
Translations
Talk about this word "skank." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/skank. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. skank. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/skank "skank." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/skank.Cite this
@misc{skank_2026,
title = {skank},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/skank},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
