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shelduck

American  
[shel-duhk] / ˈʃɛlˌdʌk /

noun

plural

shelducks,

plural

shelduck

  1. a sheldrake.

  2. a female sheldrake.

shelduck British  
/ ˈʃɛlˌdreɪk, ˈʃɛlˌdʌk /

noun

  1. any of various large usually brightly coloured gooselike ducks, such as Tadorna tadorna ( common shelduck ), of the Old World

"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

Etymology

Origin of shelduck

First recorded in 1700–10; shel(drake) + duck 1

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.

These included black-headed gulls, Mediterranean gulls, shelduck and mute swans.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2023

A paradise shelduck was patrolling the midwicket/cover region, obviously oblivious to the Test match going off out there, and unaware that within hours he would become a international superstar.

From The Guardian • Apr. 9, 2013

A rid off in the dark shallows, a flock of shelduck guffaw at one another like wee-hour carousers wending their way home.

From Time Magazine Archive

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.