duck
1 Americannoun
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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.
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failure of a batsman to score.
to be out for a duck.
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a player's score of zero.
to be bowled for a duck.
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idioms
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
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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
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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
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informal without effect
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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:
The massive predator shared its environment with other giants, including the horned Triceratops and the duck billed herbivore Edmontosaurus.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026
Split the wings before cooking, and save the tips in the freezer for a rich duck stock.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
Patriotic pieces of art, including a photo of a duck swimming in the Reflecting Pool, were hung on some of the walls of the plane.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
A push for a single from Stokes' third ball ensured his final Test innings would not end in a duck.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
He lets out a laugh, and I automatically duck, thinking that mischievous glint in his eyes means he’s going to whack me upside the head.
From "King and the Dragonflies" by Kacen Callender
Two dead ducks were found in a pond about 250 feet away from the pool.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
The pumps are blowing air in the water to kill the algae with oxygen; the only ducks I saw were lined up at the edge, refusing to jump in even when approached by photographers.
From Slate ● Jun. 19, 2026
Linsey Smith dominated the powerplay as she finished with 3-25, removing opener Georgia Plimmer and skipper Melie Kerr for first-ball ducks, but the stunning recovery gave New Zealand the momentum going into the second innings.
From BBC ● May 23, 2026
Navy decommissioned its last battleship in 1992, after the military recognized that battleships had become sitting ducks, vulnerable to modern military munitions that could pick off the vessel from the sky.
From Salon ● May 8, 2026
“We call him Harry the Hermit. Lives at the end of the mountain, south, just above that pond where the ducks landed.”
From "Miracles on Maple Hill" by Virginia Sorensen
MIAMI—My escort ducked his head into the empty TSA checkpoint 2 miles outside Miami International Airport and whispered, “We have a member arriving.‘
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
“I immediately ducked down, put my hands up, and covered my head,” she said.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
Loren Becker, a semi-retired registered nurse, had ducked into the Black Goose coffee shop in Union, Kentucky, to escape a downpour on Saturday morning.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
Other major cities have had formal infrastructure plans for years, while L.A. has ducked and dithered.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 16, 2026
A bit away from Dan, down, under the logs and trees, Brian had tried to stand up, but when he felt the heat, he had ducked back down.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
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
Not Brody, whose chiseled, wiry presence is ever in motion, flailing, ducking, wincing, yearning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026
When Trump praised Rubio during his State of the Union, the secretary mouthed “thank you,” placed a hand on his heart, and briefly stood to acknowledge the applause before ducking back into his seat.
From Slate ● Apr. 6, 2026
Protesters scatter, ducking into the gaps between buildings and pavement.
From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2026
Maribel stuck one of her legs into the car and backed her rear end in through the door, ducking her head to clear the opening.
From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez
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.
