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. (Zool.)
Phrases & Compounds
Skunk bird
the bobolink; -- so called because the male, in the breeding season, is black and white, like a skunk.
Skunk cabbage
an American aroid herb (Symplocarpus fœtidus) 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.