Word.ws English Dictionary

skookum

Syllables: skoo·kum/ˈskuːkəm/

skookum adjective: excellent, impressive.

Adjective

skookum (comparative more skookum, superlative most skookum)

  1. (British-Columbia, Northwestern, US, Yukon) Excellent, impressive.
  2. (British-Columbia, Northwestern, US, Yukon) Big, strong, durable, reliable, trustworthy, doughty.
    • The electrics were fine (amazing considering Joseph Lucas, the Prince of Darkness made 'em), although they were positive ground - admittedly not a serious problem unless you wanted to add electrical accessories - and mostly we didn't in those days unless you had a Hardly Dangerous "garbage wagon"....1991 October 16, Robert Smits, “Folk Wisdom”, in rec.motorcycles (Usenet), message-ID <RwDX01w164w@smits.oneb.wimsey.bc.ca>
    • There was a young, bold freight trainman here who tried using one of his steel-toed boots as a wheel chock. Not quite skookum enough, though. He lost a big part of his foot.1999 November 30, Skeptic, “PROVE GOD EXISTS”, in alt.atheism (Usenet), message-ID <5pW04.12151$M%.98435@news.rdc1.wa.home.com>

Noun (1)

skookum (plural skookums)

  1. (chiefly among Northwest Coast Aboriginal people) An evil spirit or woodland monster or giant.
  2. A type of doll in the form of a Native American.

Noun (2) capitalized: Skookum

Skookum (plural Skookums)

  1. A domestic cat of a small, short-legged breed.
  2. (US, historical) A kind of Native American-themed souvenir doll once common in tourist areas.

skookum meaning in Tamil

skookum in Tamil

தீயாவி

Forms of skookum

Adjective
comparativemore skookum
superlativemost skookum
Noun
pluralskookums
pluralSkookums

Origin of skookum

First attested in 1825–35. Borrowed from Chinook Jargon, from Lower Chehalis.

Words formed from skookum

Phrases with skookum

Questions about skookum

What does skookum mean?
Skookum means excellent, impressive.
What is skookum in Tamil?
Skookum in Tamil is தீயாவி. See Skookum meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is skookum?
Skookum can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce skookum?
Skookum is pronounced /ˈskuːkəm/.

Words near skookum in the dictionary

  1. skooched
  2. skooches
  3. skooching
  4. Skoog
  5. Skoogs
  6. skookum
  7. skookum house
  8. skookum houses
  9. skookums
  10. skool
  11. skoolie

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: skookum (page history and authors); Skookum (page history and authors); skookum (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-skookum.wav.

Cite this entry: “skookum.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/skookum. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.