mallard

American  

[mal-erd] / ˈmæl ərd /

noun

mallards plural

1. a common, almost cosmopolitan, wild duck, Anas platyrhynchos, from which the domestic ducks are descended.

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mallard British  

/ ˈmælɑːd /

noun

1. a duck, Anas platyrhynchos, common over most of the N hemisphere, the male of which has a dark green head and reddish-brown breast: the ancestor of all domestic breeds of duck

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• mallard
  plural
• mallards
  plural

Etymology

Origin of mallard

1275–1325; Middle English < Middle French, Old French mallart mallard drake, drake; see male, -ard

Compare meaning

How does mallard compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Rouen vs. mallard

Example Sentences

In impeccable English Adm Mallard concurred: "This exercise is the expression of a will to better understand each other, and to work for the defence of compliance in international law."

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2025

Mack Mallard, the waterfowl patriarch voiced by Kumail Nanjiani in the animated family picture “Migration,” is not exactly a shy bird himself.

From New York Times • Dec. 21, 2023

Parents Keith and Sally Mallard who have a son in Year 11 said he was "already three weeks behind".

From BBC • Sep. 27, 2023

He played Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard, a bookish pathologist for the Naval Criminal Investigation Service, an agency handling crimes involving the Navy or the Marines.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 25, 2023

Last year, when I was nine, I sat on Mrs. Mallard.

From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari