duck definition | Dictionary.com

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 .

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.

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. 2009.
Cite This Source

Link To duck

duck¹ (dŭk)

Any of various wild or domesticated swimming birds of the family Anatidae, characteristically having a broad, flat bill, short legs, and webbed feet.
A female duck.
The flesh of a duck used as food.
Slang A person, especially one thought of as peculiar.
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.]

duck² (dŭk)

v. ducked, duck·ing, ducks

v. tr.

To lower quickly, especially so as to avoid something: ducked his head as the ball came toward him.
To evade; dodge: duck responsibility; ducked the reporter's question.
To push suddenly under water. See Synonyms at dip.
Games To deliberately play a card that is lower than (an opponent's card).

v. intr.

To lower the head or body.
To move swiftly, especially so as to escape being seen: ducked behind a bush.
To submerge the head or body briefly in water.
To evade a responsibility or obligation. Often used with out: duck out on one's family.
Games To lose a trick by deliberately playing lower than one's opponent.

A quick lowering of the head or body.
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.

duck³ (dŭk)

A durable, closely woven heavy cotton or linen fabric.
ducks Clothing made of duck, especially white trousers.

[Dutch doek, cloth, from Middle Dutch doec.]

duck⁴ (dŭk)

n. In both senses also called DUKW.

An amphibious military truck used during World War II.
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.
Cite This Source

Duck

Duck\ (d[u^]k), n. [Cf. Dan. dukke, Sw. docka, OHG. doccha, G. docke. Cf. Doxy.] A pet; a darling. --Shak.

Duck

Duck\, n. [D. doek cloth, canvas, or Icel. d[=u]kr cloth; akin to OHG. tuoh, G. tuch, Sw. duk, Dan. dug.]

1. A linen (or sometimes cotton) fabric, finer and lighter than canvas, -- used for the lighter sails of vessels, the sacking of beds, and sometimes for men's clothing.

2. (Naut.) pl. The light clothes worn by sailors in hot climates. [Colloq.]

Duck

Duck\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ducked; p. pr. & vb. n. Ducking.] [OE. duken, douken, to dive; akin to D. duiken, OHG. t?hhan, MHG. tucken, t["u]cken, t?chen, G. tuchen. Cf. 5th Duck.]

1. To thrust or plunge under water or other liquid and suddenly withdraw.

Adams, after ducking the squire twice or thrice, leaped out of the tub. --Fielding.

2. To plunge the head of under water, immediately withdrawing it; as, duck the boy.

3. To bow; to bob down; to move quickly with a downward motion. " Will duck his head aside." --Swift.

Duck

Duck\ (d[u^]k), v. i. 1. To go under the surface of water and immediately reappear; to dive; to plunge the head in water or other liquid; to dip.

In Tiber ducking thrice by break of day. --Dryden.

2. To drop the head or person suddenly; to bow.

The learned pate Ducks to the golden fool. --Shak.

Duck

Duck\, n. [OE. duke, doke. See Duck, v. t. ]

1. (Zool.) Any bird of the subfamily Anatin[ae], family Anatid[ae].

Note: The genera and species are numerous. They are divided into river ducks and sea ducks. Among the former are the common domestic duck (Anas boschas); the wood duck (Aix sponsa); the beautiful mandarin duck of China (Dendronessa galeriliculata); the Muscovy duck, originally of South America (Cairina moschata). Among the sea ducks are the eider, canvasback, scoter, etc.

2. A sudden inclination of the bead or dropping of the person, resembling the motion of a duck in water.

Here be, without duck or nod, Other trippings to be trod. --Milton.

Bombay duck (Zo["o]l.), a fish. See Bummalo.

Buffel duck, or Spirit duck. See Buffel duck.

Duck ant (Zo["o]l.), a species of white ant in Jamaica which builds large nests in trees.

Duck barnacle. (Zo["o]l.) See Goose barnacle.

Duck hawk. (Zo["o]l.) (a) In the United States: The peregrine falcon. (b) In England: The marsh harrier or moor buzzard.

Duck mole (Zo["o]l.), a small aquatic mammal of Australia, having webbed feet and a bill resembling that of a duck (Ornithorhynchus anatinus). It belongs the subclass Monotremata and is remarkable for laying eggs like a bird or reptile; -- called also duckbill, platypus, mallangong, mullingong, tambreet, and water mole.

To make ducks and drakes, to throw a flat stone obliquely, so as to make it rebound repeatedly from the surface of the water, raising a succession of jets; hence:

To play at ducks and drakes, with property, to throw it away heedlessly or squander it foolishly and unprofitably.

Lame duck. See under Lame.

Language Translation for : duck

Spanish: hundir, sumergir,

German: untertauchen,

Japanese: ひょいと水に押し込む

More Translations »

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.

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

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.

Search another word or see duck on Thesaurus | Reference

Yellow Ducks
Yellow Ducks & More. Free Shipping on 150,000+ Products!

www.Target.com

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Advertise with Us · Link to Us · NASCAR® · Contact Us