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

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 ducking

He instead flew off to Denver for fundraising and a speech some of his fellow Democrats are ducking.
Obama, Why Aren’t You in Chiraq?|Michael Daly|July 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She and her husband crawled on the floor, ducking as “falling glass, chandeliers, plates, food, and drink” fell on top of them.
I Survived a Deadly Shipwreck: Costa Concordia Passengers Tell Their Stories|Barbie Latza Nadeau|May 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When ducking into darkness beneath the deck, the savvy pirate would simply switch his eye patch from one eye to the other.
Body Hack: How to See in the Dark (Like Pirates!)|Brian Ries|December 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Ducking the beams becomes more and more of an effort, and sometimes you forget to duck.
Thatcher's Economic Legacy|Megan McArdle|April 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Ducking debates is impossible now, but preparing for predictable problems, and even easy questions, should be Campaign 101.
Mitt Romney Lost the Summer: Tax Returns, Overseas Gaffes, & More|Robert Shrum|August 8, 2012|DAILY BEAST
By the way, when you fire at a guanaco they will sway their heads downwards with an odd sort of ducking motion.
Through the Heart of Patagonia|H. Hesketh Prichard
I should rather have stood my chance for a ducking, than to have been shut up with such a 'promiskus' men-agerie.
The Life and Beauties of Fanny Fern|Anonymous
In ducking, he got his bat in front of the ball, a result he had never obtained with his eyes open.
Pitching in a Pinch|Christy Mathewson
Again the hunchback received a ducking under the pump, and then went out to the barn to make his toilet.
Jack the Hunchback|James Otis
The next time it was a West-Sider who got a ducking, but seemed none the worse for it.
Boyhood in Norway|Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen

British Dictionary definitions for ducking (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 ducking (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 ducking (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 ducking (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 ducking (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 ducking (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 ducking (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 ducking

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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Nearby words

Origin of duck

Examples from the Web for ducking

British Dictionary definitions for ducking (1 of 4)

duck

noun plural ducks or duck

Word Origin for duck

British Dictionary definitions for ducking (2 of 4)

duck

verb

noun

Word Origin for duck

British Dictionary definitions for ducking (3 of 4)

duck

noun

Word Origin for duck

British Dictionary definitions for ducking (4 of 4)

duck

noun

Word Origin for duck

Word Origin and History for ducking (1 of 3)

duck

Word Origin and History for ducking (1 of 3)

duck

Word Origin and History for ducking (2 of 3)

duck

Idioms and Phrases with ducking

duck