mink

UK/mɪŋk/US/mɪŋk/

nounB2+Common in everyday speech and writing · #4,316 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: minks

A mink is a small semi-aquatic animal valued for its dark fur. A mink coat, farmed mink, wild mink.

American mink escaped from British fur farms and have devastated the water vole, which is why they are trapped as an invasive species. Fur farming was banned in Britain in 2000 and continues elsewhere.

Definitions of mink

1nounminkA small semi-aquatic animal valued for its dark fur.B2+
“A mink slipped into the river and swam off with a fish in its mouth.”

mink is an animal.

Where it comes from

Late Middle English mynk comes from a Scandinavian word for the animal.

Swedish
mink — stinking animal in Finland, mink
Middle English
mynk — fur of the European mink
English, today
mink

From Late Middle English mynk (“fur of the European mink”), apparently from Swedish mink (“stinking animal in Finland, mink”). Compare Danish mink (“mink”), Icelandic minkur (“mink”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

mink in the wild

The extinct sea mink was related to the American mink but was much larger.
Mink
In the UK, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it is illegal to release mink into the wild.
Mink
Prior to their banning of fur-farming in 2025, Poland lead the European mink fur-farming industry.
Fur farming
The European mink occurs primarily by forest streams unlikely to freeze in winter.
European mink
European mink numbers began to shrink during the 19th century, with the species rapidly becoming extinct in some parts of Central Europe.
European mink

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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