skink

1 of 2

verb

skinked; skinking; skinks

transitive verb

chiefly dialectal
: to draw, pour out, or serve (drink)

skink

2 of 2

noun

: any of a family (Scincidae) of typically small insectivorous lizards with long tapering bodies

Examples of skink in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The mode skinks use to reproduce generally corresponds with their environment. Harmeet Kaur, CNN, 11 Apr. 2020 Overall, the study suggests that there is some evolutionary advantage for having green blood that skinks from various habitats all developed over time. Jason Daley, Smithsonian, 17 May 2018
Noun
The team also discovered six more new species of skink. Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2024 So far, Gingee leaf-litter skinks have been found in two nearby sites of eastern Tamil Nadu, the study said. Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 29 Jan. 2024 The smaller ones likely belong to skinks that were relatively young at the time of their deaths. Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 28 June 2023 Thorn says that these ancient skinks probably ate tough plant matter, similar to shinglebacks and desert tortoises. Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 28 June 2023 Perhaps unsurprisingly, the biggest skink known to history was recently discovered where lots of other giant creatures once roamed—Australia. Sara Kiley Watson, Popular Science, 15 June 2023 The average skink comes in at around 4 inches long, weighing less than 0.07 ounces. Sara Kiley Watson, Popular Science, 15 June 2023 There are also some lizard species that develop a placental link with their young, though the African skink Trachylepis ivensi is the only reptile species whose embryos can actually burrow into the wall of the oviduct, approaching the degree of implantation seen in mammal pregnancy. Jake Buehler, National Geographic, 8 June 2020 Arnhem Land Gorges skink is a member of the genus Bellatorias, like this lizard. Anna Funk, Discover Magazine, 16 Nov. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'skink.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Middle Dutch schenken; akin to Old English scencan to pour out drink and probably to scanca shank

Noun

Latin scincus, from Greek skinkos

First Known Use

Verb

1866, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1590, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of skink was in 1590

Dictionary Entries Near skink

Cite this Entry

“Skink.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skink. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

skink

noun
ˈskiŋk
: any of a family of mostly small lizards with smooth scales

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