skunk

«skunk» in Mova's school dictionary: A small black-and-white animal of North America with a… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a skunk, skunks)

meaning for a pupil

1) A small black-and-white animal of North America with a bushy tail, which sprays a very bad-smelling liquid when it is frightened. tree →

2) Skunk can also be an insult for a mean, dishonest person. tree →

sense in the lessons

In science lessons about animal defences, the skunk is a famous example: its smell keeps enemies away, and its black and white stripes warn them. In everyday life in the USA and Canada, people try not to scare skunks or let dogs chase them. Phrases: smell like a skunk, skunk spray.

examples

• A skunk walked across our garden at night. tree →
• The dog came home smelling of skunk. tree →
• A skunk sprays when it is scared. tree →
• Skunks have black and white fur. tree →
• Skunks eat insects, eggs and berries. tree →
• Back away slowly if you see a skunk. tree →
• Its stripes warn other animals to stay away. tree →
• I have eliminated a malodorous and un-English skunk. tree →

note

Countable: a skunk, skunks. Skunks live wild only in the Americas, not in the UK, Ireland, Australia or New Zealand. Safety: do not go near or feed a skunk; wild animals can carry rabies. Myth: tomato juice does not really remove skunk smell well; special washes work better.

In the corpora

• A raccoon, an opossum and a skunk each have four legs, one tail and a coat of fur.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «skunk» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.