duck

[ duhk ]

/ dʌk /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR duck ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

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.

verb (used with object)

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).

noun

an act or instance of ducking.

Nearby words

duchess potatoes, duchesse, duchesse bed, duchesse brisée, duchy, duck, duck and drake, duck hawk, duck on a rock, duck out, duck press

Origin of duck

1250–1300; Middle English duken, douken; cognate with German tauchen to dive, ducken to duck

SYNONYMS FOR duck

1 bow, dodge.

3 dive, dip, souse.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR duck ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ducked

We huddled under the covers and drank and ate and then ducked out in the dark to brush our teeth.
A Little Too Off the Beaten Path in Burma|Katya Cengel|June 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When he reached me at that gathering, he ducked a question about his role by declaring: “What is important is historical truth.”
Poland’s Warmed-Over Cold Warrior|Andrew Nagorski|May 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As she ducked out of the Sheraton fundraiser, she met a group of women coming at her on the up escalator.
How the Left Cut Down a Democratic Frontrunner|David Freedlander|May 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The two young brothers, aged six and seven, described how they ducked down in the back seat when the bullets started to fly.
The Little Boy Mowed Down By The Mafia|Barbie Latza Nadeau|March 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST

A woman who was sitting with the father would later tell police that she ducked down and covered her ears as he returned fire.
Montana’s Real-Life Walter White|Michael Daly|December 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Vickers ducked, and it exploded against the wall above his head.
Jack of Both Sides|Florence Coombe
Ira sprang nimbly to the right and ducked, avoiding Genes blow, and at the same time shot his own right fist around.
Center Rush Rowland|Ralph Henry Barbour
Cutting the switch he slid out of the car and ducked over a hedge.
A Yankee Flier Over Berlin|Al Avery
Now it was gone, and now it ducked up again like a sea-mew, and past skerries and capes it whizzed like a dart.
Weird Tales from Northern Seas|Jonas Lie
The half of comic literature depends upon someone's getting cudgelled or ducked in a well, or subjected to some pain.
The Book of This and That|Robert Lynd

British Dictionary definitions for ducked (1 of 4)

duck

/ (dʌk) /

noun plural ducks or duck

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 for duck

Old English dūce duck, diver; related to duck ²

British Dictionary definitions for ducked (2 of 4)

duck

/ (dʌk) /

verb

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

noun

the act or an instance of ducking

Derived Formsducker, noun

Word Origin for duck

C14: related to Old High German tūhhan to dive, Middle Dutch dūken

British Dictionary definitions for ducked (3 of 4)

duck

/ (dʌk) /

noun

a heavy cotton fabric of plain weave, used for clothing, tents, etcSee also ducks

Word Origin for duck

C17: from Middle Dutch doek; related to Old High German tuoh cloth

British Dictionary definitions for ducked (4 of 4)

duck

⁴

/ (dʌk) /

noun

an amphibious vehicle used in World War II

Word Origin for duck

C20: from code name DUKW

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

Word Origin and History for ducked (1 of 3)

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.

Word Origin and History for ducked (1 of 3)

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.

Word Origin and History for ducked (2 of 3)

duck

"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

duck

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

noun

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Origin of duck

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British Dictionary definitions for ducked (1 of 4)

duck

noun plural ducks or duck

Word Origin for duck

British Dictionary definitions for ducked (2 of 4)

duck

verb

noun

Word Origin for duck

British Dictionary definitions for ducked (3 of 4)

duck

noun

Word Origin for duck

British Dictionary definitions for ducked (4 of 4)

duck

noun

Word Origin for duck

Word Origin and History for ducked (1 of 3)

duck

Word Origin and History for ducked (1 of 3)

duck

Word Origin and History for ducked (2 of 3)

duck

Idioms and Phrases with ducked

duck