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  • drake
    drake
    noun
    a male duck.
  • Drake
    Drake
    noun
    Sir Francis, c1540–96, English admiral and buccaneer: sailed around the world 1577–80.

drake

1 American  
[dreyk] / dreɪk /

noun

  1. a male duck.


drake 2 American  
[dreyk] / dreɪk /

noun

  1. a small cannon, used especially in the 17th and 18th centuries.

  2. drake fly.

  3. Archaic. a dragon.


Drake 3 American  
[dreyk] / dreɪk /

noun

  1. Sir Francis, c1540–96, English admiral and buccaneer: sailed around the world 1577–80.

  2. Joseph Rodman 1795–1820, U.S. poet.


drake 1 British  
/ dreɪk /

noun

  1. angling an artificial fly resembling a mayfly

  2. history a small cannon

  3. an obsolete word for dragon

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Drake 2 British  
/ dreɪk /

noun

  1. Sir Francis. ?1540–96, English navigator and buccaneer, the first Englishman to sail around the world (1577–80). He commanded a fleet against the Spanish Armada (1588) and contributed greatly to its defeat

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

drake 3 British  
/ dreɪk /

noun

  1. the male of any duck

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of drake1

1250–1300; Middle English; cognate with Low German drake, dialectal German drache; compare Old High German antrahho, anutrehho male duck

Origin of drake2

before 900; Middle English; Old English draca < Latin dracō dragon

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

After spending almost a month receiving treatment, including two surgeries and antibiotics, the drake, or male, mallard was cleared this week to leave, according to a Facebook post from the wildlife center.

From Los Angeles Times Apr. 28, 2023

When the sun hit the water and green drake mayflies began dancing on the surface, a fish lower in the pool began feeding on top.

From Washington Post Aug. 13, 2022

Theres countless number ones and songs drake has written for others never mind himself, thats the funny part lol!

From Time Jul. 23, 2015

As Toronto music critic Rawiya Kameir tweeted, “lmaooooooooo at everyone who said drake has a ‘new accent’ obviously you’ve never met a toronto roadman before.”

From Slate Feb. 26, 2015

His drake had been his pet for years, I won’t guess how many.

From Voices from the Past by Bartlett, Paul Alexander

"Well, the stars haven't aligned yet, but you never know what might happen in the future," she says of her Drake bid.

From BBC Jul. 29, 2026

Then the rapper Drake visited Chicago in the summer of 2023 and posted a photo of a bottle of the spirit on Instagram with the caption: “There’s no way Chicago enjoys this…”

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 14, 2026

Like the famous Drake Equation, the VLE estimates the probability of life by combining several contributing factors.

From Science Daily Jun. 26, 2026

In one video targeted for promotion, Ross said he could easily use inside information to trade on the release date of a forthcoming album from the hip-hop artist Drake, who is Ross’s acquaintance.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 21, 2026

All of us, even Maxine, stared at Gary Drake.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

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