duck¹ Definition
duck (duk)
noun
- pl. ducks or duck any of a large number of relatively small waterfowl with a flat bill, short neck and legs, and webbed feet
- a female duck
- the flesh of a duck as food
- Chiefly Brit., Informal a darling; dear
- ☆ Slang a person, esp. one qualified as being “odd,” “harmless,” “funny,” etc.
Etymology: ME doke < OE duce, lit., diver, ducker < base of *ducan, to plunge, dive (see duck); replaces OE ened (akin to Ger ente), common Gmc word for the bird
duck¹ Idioms
like water off a duck's back
with no effect or reaction
duck² Definition
duck (duk)
transitive verb, intransitive verb
- to plunge or dip under water for a moment
- to lower, turn, or bend (the head, body, etc.) suddenly, as in avoiding a blow or in hiding
- ☆ Informal to avoid or evade the candidate ducked the issue
- Slang to move (in or out) quickly
Etymology: ME douken < OE *ducan, to plunge, dive, akin to OHG tūhan (Ger tauchen), MLowG dūken, Du duiken, to dive
noun
the act of ducking
duck² Related Forms
duck³ Definition
duck (duk)
noun
- a cotton or linen cloth somewhat like canvas but finer and lighter in weight
- clothes, esp. white trousers, made of this cloth
Etymology: Du doek, akin to Ger tuch, cloth
duck4 Definition
duck (duk)
noun
☆ Mil. Slang an amphibious motor vehicle used during WWII
Etymology: altered (infl. by duck) < DUKW, military code name
duck Synonyms
duck
n.
Types and breeds of ducks include: freshwater, sea, gadwall, garganey, shoveler, spoonbill, widgeon, baldpate, bufflehead, butterball, whistler, broadbill, ruddy, old, squaw, harlequin, ringneck, black, wood, mandarin, musk, pintail, tufted, spotbill, mottled, masked, yellow-billed, redhead, pochard, canvasback, mallard, Peking, eider, fulvous, tree, Mexican, Aylesbury; cinnamon teal, green-winged teal, scoter, surf, coot, scaup, merganser, sheldrake;
like water off a duck's back<strong>*
duck Synonyms
duck
v.
duck Usage Examples
Object
stool: Hung on the wall in the council chamber is the town's old ducking stool.
Converse of object
- dabble: December records were very similar with a maximum count of 132 Wigeon on the 24th and good numbers of other dabbling duck.
- feed: Note: Children are welcome to feed the wild ducks, which can be seen daily from the living room window.
Adjective modifier
- tufted: A flock of about 40 of these birds was headed by two Tufted Ducks.
- white-headed: Small numbers of White-headed Ducks were found breeding at 11 wetlands.
- ferruginous: The sun shone on a group of 26 ferruginous duck flying passed the boat.
- lame: In his final weeks of office, far from being a lame duck, Bill Clinton is more popular than ever.
- long-tailed: The sight of hundreds of Long-tailed Duck on the sea on our last visit was unforgettable.
- ruddy: An example is that of the ruddy duck, introduced into Europe as an ornamental species from America.
Modifies a noun
- confit: Expect treats like foie gras & duck confit terrine, caramelized scallop salad, wild Scottish halibut & sherry trifles.
- pond: The main duck pond is situated on the far side of the play area.
- breast: Add the duck breast halves, skin side up.
- egg: The market for duck eggs, however, is poor in the UK.
Noun used with modifier
- eider: Feathers from the eider duck Old blue paper covered slide by an unknown mounter.
- Muscovy: Does this gnarled old Muscovy Duck bare a resemblance to a certain narrowboat navigator?
- mandarin: Bird watchers always seem to have problems with what to make of mandarin ducks, i.e. can they count them in their annual total?
- roast: If this is not done 80 per cent of the calories from roast duck will be from fat!
- peking: The star of great american history including peking duck.
- rubber: The rubber duck is airbrushed to give the look of a regular rubber duck.
Preposition: with
pancake: The crispy duck with pancakes was superb, although they were a little stingy on the plum sauce.
Browse dictionary entries near duck
- ‹ duchy
- ‹ duchess
- ‹ Duchenne muscular dystrophy
- ‹ Duchamp
- ‹ duces tecum
- ‹ duce
- ‹ ducat
- ‹ ducal
- ‹ Dubuque
- ‹ Dubuffet
- duck-billed dinosaur ›
- duck hawk ›
- duck plague ›
- duck soup ›
- duckbill ›
- duckboard ›
- duckfooted ›
- ducking stool ›
- duckling ›
- duckpins ›

