1. [n]  American musteline mammal typically ejecting an intensely malodorous fluid when startled; in some classifications put in a separate subfamily Mephitinae
2. [n]  a soft drug consisting of the dried leaves of the hemp plant; smoked or chewed for euphoric effect
3. [n]  a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible; "only a rotter would do that"; "kill the rat"; "throw the bum out"; "you cowardly little pukes!"
4. [n]  a strong-smelling plant from whose dried leaves a number of euphoriant and hallucinogenic drugs are prepared
5. [v]  defeat by a lurch, as in certain card games

Skunk
An avant-garde novel which mirrors the chaos that now infuses Russian life as its people struggle to navigate the transition from communism to democracy. Skunk, so nicknamed because he grows up small and stunted, feels restless, out of place, and nearly hopeless, but everywhere finds nothing but corruption and dishonesty.

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1. \Skunk\, n. [Contr. from the Abenaki (American Indian)
   seganku.] (Zo["o]l.)
   Any one of several species of American musteline carnivores
   of the genus {Mephitis} and allied genera. They have two
   glands near the anus, secreting an extremely fetid liquid,
   which the animal ejects at pleasure as a means of defense.
   Note: The common species of the Eastern United States
         ({Mephitis mephitica}) is black with more or less white
         on the body and tail. The spotted skunk ({Spilogale
         putorius}), native of the Southwestern United States
         and Mexico, is smaller than the common skunk, and is
         variously marked with black and white.
   {Skunk bird}, {Skunk blackbird} (Zo["o]l.), the bobolink; --
      so called because the male, in the breeding season, is
      black and white, like a skunk.
   {Skunk cabbage} (Bot.), an American aroid herb ({Symplocarpus
      f[oe]tidus}>) having a reddish hornlike spathe in earliest
      spring, followed by a cluster of large cabbagelike leaves.
      It exhales a disagreeable odor. Also called {swamp
      cabbage}.
   {Skunk porpoise}. (Zo["o]l.) See under {Porpoise}.
   

2. \Skunk\, v. t.
   In games of chance and skill: To defeat (an opponent) (as in
   cards) so that he fails to gain a point, or (in checkers) to
   get a king. [Colloq. U. S.]