duck
1 Americannoun
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ducks,
plural
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duck
plural
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any of numerous wild or domesticated web-footed swimming birds of the family Anatidae, especially of the genus Anas and allied genera, characterized by abroad, flat bill, short legs, and depressed body.
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the female of this bird, as distinguished from the male.
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the flesh of this bird, eaten as food.
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Informal. person; individual.
He's the queer old duck with the shaved head and walrus mustache.
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a playing marble, especially one that is not used as a shooter.
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(used with a singular verb) ducks, ducky.
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Cricket Slang.
-
failure of a batsman to score.
to be out for a duck.
-
a player's score of zero.
to be bowled for a duck.
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idioms
verb (used without object)
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ducks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ducked,
past participle, past
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ducking
present participle
verb (used with object)
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ducks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ducked,
past participle, past
-
ducking
present participle
-
to lower suddenly.
Duck your head going through that low doorway.
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to avoid or evade (a blow, unpleasant task, etc.); dodge: to duck an embarrassing question.
to duck a hard right;
to duck an embarrassing question.
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to plunge or dip in water momentarily.
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Cards Informal. to play a card lower than (the card led).
noun
noun
-
a heavy, plain-weave cotton fabric for tents, clothing, bags, etc., in any of various weights and widths.
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(used with a plural verb) ducks, slacks or trousers made of this material.
noun
noun
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any of various small aquatic birds of the family Anatidae, typically having short legs, webbed feet, and a broad blunt bill: order Anseriformes
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the flesh of this bird, used as food
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the female of such a bird, as opposed to the male (drake)
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any other bird of the family Anatidae, including geese, and swans
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Also: ducks. informal dear or darling: used as a term of endearment or of general address See also ducky
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informal a person, esp one regarded as odd or endearing
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cricket a score of nothing by a batsman
-
informal without effect
-
informal to become adept at or attracted to something very quickly
verb
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to move (the head or body) quickly downwards or away, esp so as to escape observation or evade a blow
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to submerge or plunge suddenly and often briefly under water
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informal to dodge or escape (a person, duty, etc)
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(intr) bridge to play a low card when possessing a higher one rather than try to win a trick
noun
noun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ducksimple
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duckssimple
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have duckedperfect
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has duckedperfect
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am duckingprogressive
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are duckingprogressive
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is duckingprogressive
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have been duckingperfect progressive
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has been duckingperfect progressive
Past
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duckedsimple
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had duckedperfect
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was duckingprogressive
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were duckingprogressive
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had been duckingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of duck1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English duk, doke, Old English dūce “diver, duck”; akin to duck 2
Origin of duck2
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English duken, douken; cognate with German tauchen “to dive,” ducken “to duck”
Origin of duck3
First recorded in 1630–40; from Dutch doek “cloth”; cognate with German Tuch
Origin of duck4
An Americanism dating back to 1940–45; by alteration
Explanation
A duck is a bird that spends much of its life on or near water. You can sometimes see whole families of ducks paddling across lakes and ponds. Ducks can be wild or domesticated — if you keep ducks in your yard, you'll need to provide them with at least a small body of water. When the word duck is a verb, it means "to bow or dip suddenly," like when your kite plunges suddenly and you duck to avoid getting hit in the head. You can duck figuratively, too: "Don't you dare duck out of helping me clean up after the party!"
Vocabulary lists containing duck
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:
In two videos Van Orden posted to X and “Made with Grok Imagine,” X’s proprietary AI tool, depict Cooke as an indignant red duck.
From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2026
On the walk home, we duck into the Kibitz Room, the dive bar off Canter’s Deli on Fairfax Avenue.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
A sloppy run-out in Durham and a five-ball duck in the Headingley chase did not help his cause.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
Animal rights activists collected the signatures of five percent of registered voters in the District of Colombia to mandate the referendum on the quintessentially French culinary delicacy that is made from the enlarged duck livers.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
We duck, but I manage to glance up.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
“So make sure you have all your ducks in a row, and get them to do as much as you can upfront.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Residents living near RAF Fairford say they have been "left feeling like sitting ducks" at the centre of major counter-terrorism probe.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
He said that in the wild, ducks gorge before migration and store fat in their livers and argues that "gavage" -- the process of force-feeding -- is a traditional means of animal husbandry.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
"This stretch of the Avon used to regularly have 30 to 40 ducks, but now it's unusual to see more than a handful," she said.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
He had pheasants and grouse and the ducks down on the pond and fishes behind all his dams.
From "Miracles on Maple Hill" by Virginia Sorensen
All of a sudden, Bass was a staggering champion lunging at a revived Raman, who swung and stung and ducked the way only a hungry up-and-comer can.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
We ducked under a gate and surrounded Ernie as he headed to the locker room.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
“I immediately ducked down, put my hands up, and covered my head,” she said.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
Then, hoping to avoid any urgent diaper events, I ducked into the next room and dialed up the president.
From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026
He got to the building and darted into the parking lot underneath, then ducked between cars to catch his breath and think through his next move.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
This time, there is no ducking the merits.
From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2026
But after a dozen sessions, Maddie began ducking under a chair the moment her veterinarian reached for the needles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 17, 2026
As the family is photographed, several Aces members come in and pause for a brief hug and coo before ducking quickly out of frame.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
While making his way through the ballroom he came across reporters ducking for cover and some jockeying for position with their phone cameras.
From Salon ● May 1, 2026
Elliot and I zigged and zagged down the campus paths, ducking through shrubbery and doubling back on ourselves whenever possible.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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