duckling
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of duckling
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English; see origin at duck 1, -ling 1
Explanation
A duckling is a baby duck. Ducklings usually learn to swim by following their mother to a body of water. Ducklings, like all birds, hatch from eggs that are typically laid in a nest. Soon after all the ducklings hatch, the mother duck leads them to water, where most kinds of ducks spend the greater parts of their lives. One of literature's most famous ducklings is the one in Hans Christian Andersen's "The Ugly Duckling" — although that duckling, in the end, turned out to be a swan.
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:
Mary, on the other hand, is a clumsy bird who, in Hadlow’s telling, becomes a perfectly capable duckling swimming fiercely amid a bevy of swans.
From Salon ● May 20, 2026
Edith saw herself as the ugly duckling but excelled in ballet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
Clips of a duckling swimming in a bath or two happy pooches patrolling their neighbourhood are examples of the curated programming on "PetTV".
From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026
Daughter duckling Gwen, performed by newcomer Tresi Gazal, is cute.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2023
He framed the last little duckling in the viewfinder and clicked.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
A mother mallard with her six little ducklings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
The injured duckling was treated at a veterinary clinic while the other ducklings escaped the area with the mother duck.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
It’s to the Moscow mallard and her ducklings I head to find out what Russians think of America and of the US election.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2024
The rescuers managed to get the rest of the ducklings out and reunited with their mother.
From Seattle Times ● May 8, 2024
They often go to the market there when the king visits, to sell her wares to the Silver merchants and nobles who follow the royals like ducklings.
From "Red Queen" by Victoria Aveyard
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
