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duck

 - 15 dictionary results

duck

1  [duhk]
–noun, plural ducks, (especially collectively for 1, 2) duck.
1. any of numerous wild or domesticated web-footed swimming birds of the family Anatidae, esp. of the genus Anas and allied genera, characterized by abroad, flat bill, short legs, and depressed body.
2. the female of this bird, as distinguished from the male. Compare drake 1 .
3. the flesh of this bird, eaten as food.
4. Informal. person; individual: He's the queer old duck with the knee-length gaiters and walrus mustache.
5. a playing marble, esp. one that is not used as a shooter.
6. ducks, (used with a singular verb) British Slang. ducky 2 .
7. Cricket Slang.
a. failure of a batsman to score: to be out for a duck.
b. a player's score of zero: to be bowled for a duck. Compare goose egg.
—Idiom
8. 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.
Use duck in a Sentence
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME duk, doke, OE dūce diver, duck; akin to duck 2

duck

2  [duhk]
–verb (used without object)
1. to stoop or bend suddenly; bob.
2. to avoid or evade a blow, unpleasant task, etc.; dodge.
3. to plunge the whole body or the head momentarily under water.
4. Cards Informal. to play a card lower than the card led.
–verb (used with object)
5. to lower suddenly: Duck your head going through that low doorway.
6. to avoid or evade (a blow, unpleasant task, etc.); dodge: to duck a hard right; to duck an embarrassing question.
7. to plunge or dip in water momentarily.
8. Cards Informal. to play a card lower than (the card led).
–noun
9. an act or instance of ducking.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME duken, douken; c. G tauchen to dive, ducken to duck

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

duck

3  [duhk]
–noun
1. a heavy, plain-weave cotton fabric for tents, clothing, bags, etc., in any of various weights and widths.
2. ducks, (used with a plural verb) slacks or trousers made of this material.
Origin:
1630–40; < D doek cloth; c. G Tuch

duck

4  [duhk]
–noun
DUKW.
Origin:
1940–45, Americanism; by alter.

DUKW

  [duhk]
–noun
1. a type of amphibious military transport used during World War II.
2. a similar truck used in emergency evacuations.
Also called duck.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To duck
duck 1   (dŭk)   
n.  

  1. Any of various wild or domesticated swimming birds of the family Anatidae, characteristically having a broad, flat bill, short legs, and webbed feet.

  2. A female duck.

  3. The flesh of a duck used as food.

  4. Slang A person, especially one thought of as peculiar.

  5. Chiefly British A dear. Often used in the plural with a singular verb.


[Middle English doke, from Old English dūce, possibly from *dūcan, to dive; see duck2.]
duck 2   (dŭk)   
v.   ducked, duck·ing, ducks

v.   tr.

  1. To lower quickly, especially so as to avoid something: ducked his head as the ball came toward him.

  2. To evade; dodge: duck responsibility; ducked the reporter's question.

  3. To push suddenly under water. See Synonyms at dip.

  4. Games To deliberately play a card that is lower than (an opponent's card).

v.   intr.

  1. To lower the head or body.

  2. To move swiftly, especially so as to escape being seen: ducked behind a bush.

  3. To submerge the head or body briefly in water.

  4. To evade a responsibility or obligation. Often used with out: duck out on one's family.

  5. Games To lose a trick by deliberately playing lower than one's opponent.

n.  

  1. A quick lowering of the head or body.

  2. A plunge into water.


[Middle English douken, to dive, possibly from Old English *dūcan; akin to Middle Low German and Middle Dutch dūken.]
duck'er n.
duck 3   (dŭk)   
n.  

  1. A durable, closely woven heavy cotton or linen fabric.

  2. ducks Clothing made of duck, especially white trousers.


[Dutch doek, cloth, from Middle Dutch doec.]
duck 4   (dŭk)   
n.   In both senses also called DUKW.

  1. An amphibious military truck used during World War II.

  2. An amphibious truck used in emergencies, as to evacuate flood victims.


[Alteration (influenced by duck1) of DUKW.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
duck

  1. n.
    a male urinal bedpan. (Hospitals.) : Somebody in room 212 needs a duck.
  2. tv.
    to avoid someone or something. : Clare is ducking her responsibility.

  3. Go to deduck. :
  4. 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.
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Word Origin & History

duck  (n.1)
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, attested from 1590. duck-walk is 1930s; duck soup "anything easily done" is from 1908. Lame duck, originally Stock Exchange slang for "defaulter," is first attested 1761. Duck's ass haircut is from 1951. Ducks-and-drakes, skipping flat stones on water, is from 1583; the fig. sense of "throwing something away recklessly" is c.1600. The ugly ducking is from Hans Andersen's tale.

duck  (n.2)
"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  (v.)
"to plunge into" (trans.), c.1300; to suddenly go under water (intrans.), c.1340, from presumed O.E. *ducan "to duck," found only in derivative duce (n.) "duck" (but there are cognate words in other Gmc. languages, cf. Ger. tauchen "to dive"), from P.Gmc. *dukjan. Sense of "bend, stoop quickly" is first recorded in Eng. 1530.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: duck
Pronunciation: 'd&k
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural ducks or duck
: any of various swimmingbirds (family Anatidae, the duck family) in which the neck and legs are short, the body more or less depressed, the bill often broad and flat, and the sexes almost always different from each other inplumage
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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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.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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