Past participle and past tense of stink; to have emitted a strong, unpleasant odor. Also used figuratively to mean was very bad or unacceptable.
From Old English 'stincan' meaning to emit a smell, related to German 'stinken.' Strong verb pattern with stink-stank-stunk. Figurative use meaning 'was terrible' emerged in American slang mid-20th century.
The irregular verb pattern of stink-stank-stunk mirrors other English strong verbs like sing-sang-sung, showing how ancient Germanic grammar patterns persist in modern usage. Smell is our most emotionally connected sense, making 'stunk' particularly vivid as an insult.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.