wood duck


noun
  1. a North American duck, Aix sponsa, that nests in trees, the male of which has a long crest and black, chestnut, green, purple, and white plumage.

Origin of wood duck

1
An Americanism dating back to 1770–80

Words Nearby wood duck

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use wood duck in a sentence

  • The wood duck, the handsomest of all the American ducks, is not plentiful anywhere, and seems to be growing fewer in numbers.

  • One of his friends had a stuffed Wood-duck, so the 'Boy-that-wanted-to-know' drew that from a long way off.

    Two Little Savages | Ernest Thompson Seton
  • Tain't an easy job for greenhorns nohow; but you take to it kinder nateral, like the wood-duck to the pond.'

    Cedar Creek | Elizabeth Hely Walshe
  • The wood-duck is, according to strict scientific classification, a diminutive goose.

    Australian Pictures | Howard Willoughby
  • Give me a black or a wood duck, freshly killed, before all scrub or 'plain' turkeys in Australia.

    Tom Gerrard | Louis Becke

British Dictionary definitions for wood duck

wood duck

noun
  1. a duck, Aix sponsa, of wooded swamps, lakes, etc, in North America, having a very brightly coloured plumage in the male

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