1 B1 informal
To fill a room or space with a very unpleasant smell.
"Who left their gym bag in here? It's stinking the whole locker room up."
separable
stink up
B1 informal separable transitive
To fill a place with an unpleasant smell (chiefly American English).
In plain English
To make somewhere smell really bad.
What does "stink up" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 B2 idiomatic slang
To ruin or spoil something badly (figurative, American slang).
"Their terrible performance stunk up what should have been a great season."
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To send a stink upward through a space.
Actually means
To make somewhere smell really bad.
Usage tip
Primarily used in American English. The British equivalent is 'stink out.' Common in casual speech. The object (the place) can go between 'stink' and 'up' or after 'up.'
Words that pair with "stink up"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
room house car bathroom kitchen place
How to conjugate "stink up"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
stink up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
stinks up
he/she/it
Past simple
stinked up
yesterday
Past participle
stinked up
have + pp
-ing form
stinking up
continuous
Hear "stink up" in the wild
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