duck2
- to stoop or bend suddenly; bob.
- to avoid or evade a blow, unpleasant task, etc.; dodge.
- to plunge the whole body or the head momentarily under water.
- Cards Informal. to play a card lower than the card led.
- to lower suddenly: Duck your head going through that low doorway.
- to avoid or evade (a blow, unpleasant task, etc.); dodge: to duck a hard right; to duck an embarrassing question.
- to plunge or dip in water momentarily.
- Cards Informal. to play a card lower than (the card led).
- an act or instance of ducking.
Origin of duck2
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words
dodgecrouchdivesidestepevadeboweludebendescapeshunlowerplungefenceshylurchparrystoopsubmergedoubleshirkExamples from the Web for ducked
Contemporary Examples
We huddled under the covers and drank and ate and then ducked out in the dark to brush our teeth.
When he reached me at that gathering, he ducked a question about his role by declaring: “What is important is historical truth.”
As she ducked out of the Sheraton fundraiser, she met a group of women coming at her on the up escalator.
The two young brothers, aged six and seven, described how they ducked down in the back seat when the bullets started to fly.
A woman who was sitting with the father would later tell police that she ducked down and covered her ears as he returned fire.
Historical Examples
The Road-Runner ducked once or twice by way of refreshing his memory.
The Trail BookMary Austin
He ducked instinctively, striking upward with his cutlass as he did so.
Howard Pyle's Book of PiratesHoward Pyle
He appears to think that so distinguished a criminal should have been ducked in a tank of rosewater.
The Devil's DictionaryAmbrose Bierce
He ducked and peered into her face again, and again his face sobered.
Good IndianB. M. Bower
Get out of the house, you puppy; or I'll have the servants up, and have you ducked in the horse-pond.'
Wilfrid CumbermedeGeorge MacDonald
duck1
- any of various small aquatic birds of the family Anatidae, typically having short legs, webbed feet, and a broad blunt bill: order Anseriformes
- the flesh of this bird, used as food
- the female of such a bird, as opposed to the male (drake)
- any other bird of the family Anatidae, including geese, and swans
- Also: ducks British informal dear or darling: used as a term of endearment or of general addressSee also ducky
- informal a person, esp one regarded as odd or endearing
- cricket a score of nothing by a batsman
- like water off a duck's back informal without effect
- take to something like a duck to water informal to become adept at or attracted to something very quickly
Word Origin
duck2
- to move (the head or body) quickly downwards or away, esp so as to escape observation or evade a blow
- to submerge or plunge suddenly and often briefly under water
- (when intr, often foll by out) informal to dodge or escape (a person, duty, etc)
- (intr) bridge to play a low card when possessing a higher one rather than try to win a trick
- the act or an instance of ducking
Word Origin
duck3
- a heavy cotton fabric of plain weave, used for clothing, tents, etcSee also ducks
Word Origin
duck4
- an amphibious vehicle used in World War II
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for ducked
duck
n.1
waterfowl, Old English duce (found only in genitive ducan) "a duck," literally "a ducker," presumed to be from Old English *ducan "to duck, dive" (see duck (v.)). Replaced Old English ened as the name for the bird, this being from PIE *aneti-, the root of the "duck" noun in most Indo-European languages.
In the domestic state the females greatly exceed in number, hence duck serves at once as the name of the female and of the race, drake being a specific term of sex. [OED]
As a term of endearment, attested from 1580s. duck-walk is 1930s; duck soup "anything easily done" is by 1899. Duck's ass haircut is from 1951. Ducks-and-drakes, skipping flat stones on water, is from 1580s; the figurative sense of "throwing something away recklessly" is c.1600.
duck
n.2
"strong, untwilled linen (later cotton) fabric," used for sails and sailors' clothing, 1630s, from Dutch doeck "linen cloth" (Middle Dutch doec), related to German Tuch "piece of cloth," Danish dug, Old Frisian dok, Old High German tuoh, all of unknown origin.
duck
v.
"to plunge into" (transitive), c.1300; to suddenly go under water (intransitive), mid-14c., from presumed Old English *ducan "to duck," found only in derivative duce (n.) "duck" (but there are cognate words in other Germanic languages, e.g. Old High German tuhhan "to dip," German tauchen "to dive," Old Frisian duka, Middle Dutch duken "to dip, dive," Dutch duiken), from Proto-Germanic *dukjan.
Sense of "bend, stoop quickly" is first recorded in English 1520s. Related: Ducked; ducking. The noun is attested from 1550s in the sense of "quick stoop;" meaning "a plunge, dip" is from 1843.
Idioms and Phrases with ducked
duck
In addition to the idioms beginning with duck
- duck out
- duck soup
also see:
- dead duck
- get one's ducks in a row
- lame duck
- like water off a duck's back
- sitting duck
- take to (like a duck to water)
- ugly duckling