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duck

[duhk]

Example Sentences Origin

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noun, plural ducks, (especially collectively for 1, 2) duck.

any of numerous wild or domesticated web-footed swimming birds of the family Anatidae, especially of the genus Anas and allied genera, characterized by abroad, flat bill, short legs, and depressed body.

the female of this bird, as distinguished from the male. Compare drake¹.

the flesh of this bird, eaten as food.

Informal. person; individual: He's the queer old duck with the knee-length gaiters and walrus mustache.

a playing marble, especially one that is not used as a shooter.

EXPAND

ducks, (used with a singular verb) British Slang. ducky².

Cricket Slang.

failure of a batsman to score: to be out for a duck.

a player's score of zero: to be bowled for a duck. Compare goose egg.

COLLAPSE

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Idiom

water off a duck's back, something that has little or no effect: Our criticisms of his talk rolled off him like water off a duck's back.

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Duck is always a great word to know.

So is zedonk. Does it mean:

the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

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Origin:
before 1000; Middle English duk, doke, Old English dūce diver, duck; akin to duck²

Example Sentences

Experiment involving a plastic duck and a frozen swimming pool.

Warning, you may want to wrap duck tape around your head first.

Remove giblets and neck from duck cavity and discard or reserve for another use.

EXPAND

Dictionary.com Unabridged

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.

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

Synonyms
1. bow, dodge. 3. dive, dip, souse.

noun

a heavy, plain-weave cotton fabric for tents, clothing, bags, etc., in any of various weights and widths.

ducks, (used with a plural verb) slacks or trousers made of this material.

Origin:
1630–40; < Dutch doek cloth; cognate with German Tuch

noun

DUKW.

Origin:
1940–45, Americanism; by alteration

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To DUCK

Collins

World English Dictionary

duck¹ (dʌk)

—n , pl ducks, duck
1.	any of various small aquatic birds of the family Anatidae, typically having short legs, webbed feet, and a broad blunt bill: order Anseriformes
2.	the flesh of this bird, used as food
3.	the female of such a bird, as opposed to the male (drake)
4.	any other bird of the family Anatidae, including geese, and swans
5.	informal (Brit) See also ducky Also: ducks dear or darling: used as a term of endearment or of general address
6.	informal a person, esp one regarded as odd or endearing
7.	cricket a score of nothing by a batsman
8.	informal like water off a duck's back without effect
9.	informal take to something like a duck to water to become adept at or attracted to something very quickly

[Old English dūce duck, diver; related to duck²]

duck² (dʌk)

—vb (when intr, often foll by out)
1.	to move (the head or body) quickly downwards or away, esp so as to escape observation or evade a blow
2.	to submerge or plunge suddenly and often briefly under water
3.	informal to dodge or escape (a person, duty, etc)
4.	(intr) bridge to play a low card when possessing a higher one rather than try to win a trick

—n
5.	the act or an instance of ducking

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

'ducker²

—n

duck³ (dʌk)

—n
	See also ducks a heavy cotton fabric of plain weave, used for clothing, tents, etc

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

duck⁴ (dʌk)

—n
	an amphibious vehicle used in World War II

[C20: from code name DUKW]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

duck

O.E. duce (found only in gen. ducan) "a duck," lit. "a ducker," presumed to be from O.E. *ducan "to duck" (see duck (v.)), replaced O.E. ened as the name for the bird, this being from PIE *aneti-, the root of the "duck" noun in most I.E. languages. As a term of endearment,

EXPAND

attested from 1580s. duck-walk is 1930s; duck soup "anything easily done" is from 1908. 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.

duck

"strong, untwilled linen (later cotton) fabric," used for sails and sailors' clothing, 1640, from Du. doeck "linen cloth," related to Ger. Tuch "piece of cloth."

duck

"to plunge into" (trans.), c.1300; to suddenly go under water (intrans.), mid-14c., from presumed O.E. *ducan "to duck," found only in derivative duce (n.) "duck" (but there are cognate words in other Germanic languages, cf. Ger. tauchen "to dive"), from P.Gmc. *dukjan. Sense of "bend, stoop quickly"

is first recorded in English 1520s. Related: Ducked; ducking.

COLLAPSE

Slang Dictionary

duck definition

n.
a male urinal bedpan. (Hospitals.) : Somebody in room 212 needs a duck.
tv.
to avoid someone or something. : Clare is ducking her responsibility.
Go to deduck. :
n.
a ticket. (Probably akin to ducats.) : Did you buy the ducks early, or do we have to stand in line?

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

duck

In addition to the idioms beginning with duck, 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.