In American slang , a skank is one who is "skanky". Originally associated with a bad smell and/or scummy or dirty surface, it has come to refer to someone who is either or both physically repugnant for their filth and morally or socially repugnant for their behavior and demeanor, most often sexually. Prostitutes are often associated with the term though in reference to a usually non-whoring person. It is pejorative.

Examples of use include, "She is a skanky ho" "You skank" "She is such a skank"; "ho" is an idiomatic abbreviation of "whore".

To be skanked or to skank someone; to be ripped off or rip someone off. Often a term expressed in relation to drugs.

In Britain, the meaning is rather different, referring to someone who is tight with their money. Thus a teenager complaining 'my mom is a scank' has rather different meanings on either side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Skanking (form of dance) A dance associated with ska music. Skanking has developed over the years since its origin in Jamaica, adapting to the new speed and sound of modern ska. Skanking has also been incorporated into punk dancing, usually in circle pits.

Skank is also the name of a famous pop/reggae/ska Brazilian band, from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais.