Meaning & use
skink
Last updated
UK/skɪŋk/
US/skɪŋk/
Meaning
nouncountable
A small lizard with smooth, shiny scales and a long body, often with short legs, found in many warm parts of the world.
Grammar: Named for the animal group: a blue-tongued skink.
Patterns
- a skink in something
A skink darted across the warm rock and vanished into the grass.
The blue-tongued skink is a popular pet in Australia.
Some skinks give birth to live young instead of laying eggs.
Word forms
| plural | skinks |
|---|
Common combinations
- a blue-tongued skink
- The blue-tongued skink stuck out its bright tongue at the dog.
- a garden skink
- A garden skink basked on the patio steps.
- a skink's tail
- A skink's tail can break off to distract a predator.
- skink species
- Many skink species live in Australia.
- a pet skink
- She kept a pet skink in a tank with a heat lamp.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- scincid adjective
- technical word relating to the skink family
Commonly confused: skink or skunk?
skink vs skunk
A skunk is a black and white mammal that sprays a bad smell, while a skink is a small lizard.
Practice
What is a skink?
Choose one answer.
A skink is a lizard with smooth scales. The mammal that sprays a bad smell is a skunk, the word learners most often confuse with skink.
Make it your own
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