duck

DUK/dʌk/

Pluralducks, duck

Verbducks, ducking, ducked

25 meanings of duck

Practice

1
water birdnouncountable or uncountable
A bird of the family Anatidae that lives on or near water and has webbed feet and a flattened bill.
A duck glided across the pond, leaving a small wake behind it.
Hunters wait in blinds at dawn for ducks to settle on the marsh.
2
lower headverbtransitive
To lower the head or body quickly, especially to avoid being hit or seen, or briefly in greeting or respect.
Sailors duck their heads when the boom swings across the deck.
Everyone ducked their heads as the helicopter passed low overhead.
UsageCommon patterns: duck your head, duck down, or duck out of the way.
Similarlower, bob, bow, dip
Oppositeraise, lift
Note
The dodge is the newer face of an old word for dipping: Middle English ducken meant "to plunge under water," from Old English *dūcan, "to dip, dive, duck." The object is the head or body itself, as when Jonathan Swift's raw recruit, hearing bullets whistle round his ears, "will duck his head aside". The watery meaning survives beside it in plunging something under.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
The verb descends from Middle English ducken, meaning to plunge under water, and reconstructed Old English *dūcan, meaning to dip, dive or duck. en.wiktionary.org
Jonathan Swift describes an inexperienced recruit hearing bullets whistle around his ears and writes 'will duck his head aside'; these are narrative words, not dialogue spoken by the recruit. en.wikisource.org
3
meatnoununcountable
Meat from the duck, as prepared and served for eating.
The restaurant serves roast duck with a plum sauce.
Duck is fattier than chicken and pairs well with fruit sauces.
UsageNo a for the meat: roast duck, duck with plum sauce. A duck is the bird.
4
avoid (duty)verbfigurativelytransitive
To dodge or get out of doing something, particularly a duty or obligation.
Politicians often duck questions about their voting records.
He ducked jury duty twice by claiming scheduling conflicts.
UsageCommon objects: duck a question, duck the issue; also duck out of a duty.
Similardodge, evade, avoid, sidestep, shirk
Oppositeface, confront, tackle, address
Note
The dodge turned moral. What gets ducked is a demand, a question, or a moment that called for action. Kathryn Hughes writes of women choosing to "duck the demands of domestic life," and the rail minister Huw Merriman "ducked the question" in the House of Commons. Behind it stands the picture of ducking a blow.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Kathryn Hughes wrote the quoted phrase about women choosing to evade domestic demands. theguardian.com
Huw Merriman was the rail minister at the time. gov.uk
Merriman was described as having "ducked the question" in the House of Commons; the underlying exchange was a written parliamentary question. en.wiktionary.org
5
pop inverbcolloquialintransitive
To go quickly into or out of a place, often briefly or to avoid being noticed.
I need to duck into the bank before it closes.
He ducked into a doorway to answer his phone.
UsageWith into or out of: duck into a shop, duck out early.
Similarpop, nip, slip, dart
6
cricketnouncountable or uncountable
In cricket, a batsman's score of zero upon getting out; short for duck's egg.
The captain was dismissed for a duck in the opening over.
Three ducks in a row put his place on the team in doubt.
UsageA batsman is out for a duck or dismissed for a duck.
Similarnought, zero
Note
Cricket's word for nothing at all, clipped from duck's egg: the round 0 beside a batsman's name was likened to an egg. It applies only once the batsman is out; a zero not out is no duck.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
The cricket term duck is shortened from duck's egg. en.wikipedia.org
Duck's egg refers to the resemblance between a written zero in the scorebook and an egg. en.wikipedia.org

Less common meanings

7
female birdnouncountable or uncountable
An adult female duck, as contrasted with the male drake and with a young duckling.
The duck led her brood across the road while the drake trailed behind.
Breeders keep one drake for every five ducks in the flock.
Similarhen
Oppositedrake
Note
Breeders keep this narrower meaning, in which the word that names the whole bird names only the adult female. A drake is a duck in the everyday sense but never in this one, and a duckling is not yet either. Context does the work: in "one drake for every five ducks," the gendered meaning is plainly intended.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
Poultry breeders distinguish the adult female duck from the male drake. novascotia.ca
A drake is a duck in the general sense, while a duckling has not yet reached the adult categories distinguished here. novascotia.ca
8
dunkverbtransitive
To plunge someone or something briefly under water, or to dip briefly under the surface oneself.
Swimmers sometimes duck their friends under the waves as a joke.
At the swimming hole, the older boys liked to grab the newcomers and duck them under the water for a second or two.
UsageOften with under: duck someone under the water.
Similardunk, dip, plunge, submerge, immerse
Note
Usually the plunging is done to someone or something else, and the one ducked is often a person: in Henry Fielding's Joseph Andrews (1742), Parson Adams ducks the Squire "twice or thrice" before leaping out of the tub.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Henry Fielding wrote Joseph Andrews, first published in 1742. en.wikipedia.org
Parson Adams ducks the squire "twice or thrice" and then leaps out of the tub. gutenberg.org
9
darlingnouncolloquialUK
A friendly or affectionate term of address, like 'dear', 'love' or 'pet'.
There now, duck, dry your eyes and have some tea.
Happy birthday, duck. You don't look a day older.
UsageUsed to speak to someone, with no a or the: thanks, duck.
Similarlove, dear, pet, darling, sweetheart
Note
A word of central England whose origin is unsettled: it may be the bird's name used fondly, or a separate word. It belongs to the dialects of old Mercia, the Potteries and the Black Country among them, and is compared with Danish dukke, "doll," and Swedish docka, "baby; doll." It is old, too: Shakespeare has "My duck" in Henry V (1600).
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
The endearment belongs to central England, including the Potteries and Black Country dialects of former Mercia. en.wiktionary.org
The word is compared with Danish dukke, meaning doll, and Swedish docka, glossed baby or doll. en.wiktionary.org
Shakespeare's Henry V contains the endearment my duck. gutenberg.org
The quoted wording is my duck. gutenberg.org
10
nouncolloquialcountable
A person of a certain sort, nearly always with a describing adjective in front, as in a lucky duck or an odd duck.
Grandma survived two hip operations and still gardens every day; she's one tough old duck.
Some of the smartest people I've ever worked with were real odd ducks.
Similarcharacter, bird, customer, cookie
11
canvasnouncountable or uncountable
A heavy, closely woven cloth, usually cotton, of the kind used for sails, tents and work clothes.
The sailmaker ordered several yards of duck for the new mainsail.
The porch awning was made of duck that had faded after years of sun.
UsageCotton duck makes the fabric meaning clear.
Similarcanvas, sailcloth
Note
A different word from the bird altogether, borrowed from Dutch doek, "linen cloth," and related to German Tuch and Swedish duk, "cloth, canvas." It works freely as a modifier: Katherine Mansfield dresses a man in "blue duck trousers" in The Woman At The Store (1912).
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 6 facts
The fabric word has a separate origin from the bird word and comes from Dutch doek. en.wikipedia.org
Dutch doek can mean linen cloth. en.wiktionary.org
The fabric word is related to German Tuch. en.wiktionary.org
Swedish duk means cloth or canvas and belongs to the same Germanic word family. en.wiktionary.org
Katherine Mansfield describes a man wearing blue duck trousers in The Woman at the Store. aucklanduniversitypress.co.nz
The Woman at the Store was first published in 1912. en.wikipedia.org
12
nouncountable
A vehicle that travels on roads and floats on water: at first the wartime DUKW truck, and now often one used for sightseeing tours.
Our duck tour left from the aquarium, drove past the old courthouse, and then plunged into the harbor.
During the reenactment, several restored wartime ducks rumbled off the beach and floated out into the bay.
UsageOften before a noun: a duck tour.
Note
Behind this vehicle is a pun: the wartime truck's letters, DUKW, read aloud as duck, and the bird's name suited a machine as much at home in water as on land.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
The vehicle name duck arose through a humorous reading of DUKW. en.wiktionary.org
The bird's name was a fitting nickname because the vehicle operated on both land and water. ww1.prweb.com
13
trousersnouncountable or uncountableplural
Trousers made of duck, a heavy, closely woven cloth, usually cotton.
Officers in crisp white ducks lined the rail as the ship entered the harbor.
His ducks were stained with tar after a day's work on the docks.
UsageOften white ducks.
Note
Rebecca West's old Allington stands in white ducks (1918), and Doris Lessing's servant is anonymous in his white ducks in A Proper Marriage (1954). The fabric and its Dutch origin belong to the sailcloth sense.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
Rebecca West describes old Allington standing in white ducks in The Return of the Soldier. gutenberg.org
The West passage appeared in a work first published in 1918. en.wikipedia.org
A Proper Marriage describes a servant as anonymous in his white ducks. en.wiktionary.org
Doris Lessing wrote A Proper Marriage, first published in 1954. dorislessingsociety.wordpress.com
The fabric word duck has a Dutch origin. en.wiktionary.org
14
verb
In audio mixing, to lower the level of one sound so that the rest of the mix comes through more clearly.
15
nounUS
A small stack of stones, or cairn, used to mark a hiking trail.
16
noun
A building deliberately constructed in the shape of an everyday object connected with its purpose.
17
nounslang
A playing card with the rank of two; a deuce.
18
noun
A portable urinal with a long neck, used by men who are confined to bed.
19
noun
A marble placed as a target, to be shot at with another marble, the shooter, in children's games.
20
noundated
Synonym of lame duck: a trader who cannot meet their contracts or pay their debts.
21
noun
A water-filled cave passage with little or no airspace between the water and the roof.
22
noun
A weight used to hold a flexible spline in place while a smooth curve is drawn.
23
verb
To leave a rubber duck on someone's parked Jeep, without being seen, as a friendly gesture.
24
nounslangUS
A man forced or pressured into a homosexual relationship, especially in prison.
The more passive males are subjected to physical violence. I was subjected to being what they call a punk or a duck, which is someone else's power trip, that's all.
1986, Michael Rathbone, “Tell Someone”
25
noundialectalUK
A meatball made from chopped offal, otherwise known as a faggot.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of duck apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 2, 4–5, 8

Old English *dūcan, meaning "to dip, dive, duck," gave Middle English ducken, meaning "to duck, plunge under water, submerge." Further back it goes via Proto-West Germanic to Proto-Germanic *dūkaną, which meant "to dip, dive, stoop." German ducken, Danish dykke ("to dive"), and Dutch duiken are related.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

Old English *dūcan meant 'to dip, dive, duck' and gave Middle English ducken, meaning 'to duck, plunge under water, submerge'. en.wiktionary.org
The ancestry runs through Proto-West Germanic to Proto-Germanic *dūkaną, meaning 'to dip, dive, stoop'. en.wiktionary.org
German ducken is related to English duck. en.wiktionary.org
Danish dykke means 'to dive' and is related to English duck. en.wiktionary.org
Dutch duiken is related to English duck. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 1, 3, 6–7, 10, 12

From Middle English doke, from Old English duce ("duck," literally "dipper, diver, ducker"), from the same Proto-Germanic root *dūkaną ("to dive, bend down") as the verb. Cognates include Dutch duiker ("diving bird") and German Taucher ("diving bird"), both literally meaning "diver."

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts

Duck descends from Middle English doke, from Old English duce. en.wiktionary.org
Old English duce meant duck, literally dipper, diver, or ducker. en.wiktionary.org
The bird name and the verb share Proto-Germanic *dūkaną, meaning to dive or bend down. en.wiktionary.org
Dutch duiker and German Taucher are cognates. en.wiktionary.org
Dutch duiker denotes a diving bird and literally means diver. en.wiktionary.org
German Taucher denotes a diving bird and literally means diver. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 11, 13

From Dutch doek ("linen cloth"), from Middle Dutch doeck, going back through Proto-West Germanic to Proto-Germanic *dōkaz ("cloth, rag") and ultimately Proto-Indo-European *dwōg-. It is cognate with German Tuch ("cloth") and Swedish duk ("cloth, canvas").

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts

The fabric word duck comes from Dutch doek. en.wiktionary.org
Dutch doek means linen cloth. en.wiktionary.org
The ancestry runs through Middle Dutch doeck and Proto-West Germanic to Proto-Germanic *dōkaz, meaning cloth or rag. en.wiktionary.org
The ultimate reconstructed ancestor is Proto-Indo-European *dwōg-. en.wiktionary.org
German Tuch, meaning cloth, is cognate. en.wiktionary.org
Swedish duk, meaning cloth or canvas, is cognate. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 9

A regional term of endearment from central England, common in the Potteries around Stoke-on-Trent and in the Black Country. Its deeper origin is unclear, though Danish and Swedish have similar words meaning "doll."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

The endearment is associated with central England, including the Potteries and the Black Country. en.wiktionary.org
The Potteries dialect area is around Stoke-on-Trent. en.wikipedia.org
Danish and Swedish have similar words meaning 'doll'. en.wiktionary.org