Word.ws English Dictionary

duck

/dʌk/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Ireland/dʊk/

duck verb: to quickly lower (the head or body), often in order to prevent it from being struck by something. Also the ellipsis of architectural duck.

duck: to quickly lower (the head or body), often in order to prevent it from being struck by something
Image: Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Verb (1)

duck (third-person singular simple present ducks, present participle ducking, simple past and past participle ducked)

  1. (transitive) To quickly lower (the head or body), often in order to prevent it from being struck by something.
    • As some raw youth in country bred,
      To arms by thirst of honour led,
      When at a skirmish first he hears
      The bullets whistling round his ears,
      Will duck his head asidec. 1729, Jonathan Swift, To Dr. Delany on the Libels Written Against Him
    • Rimmer ducked his body low into his chair, so just his head remained above the table top, and peered past the backs of the examinees in front of him, waiting for the adjudicator to make his move.1989, Grant Naylor, Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers
    Synonyms:
    dip
  2. (transitive) To lower (something) into water; to thrust or plunge under liquid and suddenly withdraw.
    • Adams after ducking the Squire tvvice or thrice leaped out of the Tub, […]1742, Henry Fielding, “A Scene of Roasting Very Nicely Adapted to the Present Taste and Times”, in The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews, and of His Friend Mr. Abraham Adams. […], volume...
    Synonyms:
    dip, dunk
  3. (intransitive) To go under the surface of water and immediately reappear; to plunge one's head into water or other liquid.
    • […]In Tiber ducking thrice, by break of day[…]1693, Aulus Persius Flaccus, John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus.] The Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with...
  4. (intransitive) To bow.
    • The Learned pate / Duckes to the Golden Foole.c. 1605–1608 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
  5. (figuratively, transitive) To evade doing something, especially something considered a responsibility.
    • Victorian women choosing to duck the demands of domestic life to spend their time doing something they enjoyed is hardly a novel idea.2018 July 21, Kathryn Hughes, “The strange cult of Emily Brontë and the 'hot mess' of Wuthering Heights”, in The Guardian
    • But pressed by Labour's Marsha de Cordov in the House of Commons on June 29, on "whether he plans to reduce the total number of ticket offices", Merriman ducked the question but confirmed that the Government wants to close ticket offices.2023 July 12, Mel Holley, “Network News: RDG presses ahead with ticket office closure plan”, in RAIL, number 987, page 7
  6. (transitive) To lower the volume of (a sound) so that other sounds in the mix can be heard more clearly.
    • The music is ducked under the voice.2007, Alexander U. Case, Sound FX: unlocking the creative potential of recording studio effects, page 183
  7. (colloquial, intransitive) To enter a place for a short moment.
    • I'm just going to duck into the loo for a minute; can you hold my bag?

Noun (1)

duck (plural ducks)

  1. A cave passage containing water with low, or no, airspace.

Noun (2)

duck (countable and uncountable, plural ducks or duck)

  1. Any of certain aquatic birds of the family Anatidae, having a flat bill and webbed feet, distinguished from swans and geese by generally being smaller and shorter-necked.
    • Matsumoto Castle exhibits the architecture of both war and peace, from its steep wooden stairs, hidden inner levels and archer’s perches to the moon-viewing room added in 1630, which also offers a vantage point for viewing the brocaded carps and ducks residing in the castle moat.2023 May 18, David McElhenney, “13 of Japan’s best castles”, in CNN
    • The payment processor’s layoffs and the curious incident of the duck were first reported by Business Insider.2025 January 23, John Towfighi, “Stripe accidentally sends image of cartoon duck to laid-off employees”, in CNN
  2. Specifically, an adult female duck; contrasted with drake and with duckling.
    Synonyms:
    duckess
  3. (uncountable) The flesh of a duck used as food.
    Synonyms:
    duckflesh, duckmeat
  4. A batsman's score of zero after getting out. (Short for duck's egg.)
  5. (slang) A playing card with the rank of two.
  6. A marble to be shot at with another marble (the shooter) in children's games.
  7. (US) A cairn used to mark a trail.
  8. One of the weights used to hold a spline in place for the purpose of drawing a curve.
  9. (dated, slang) Synonym of lame duck (“one who cannot fulfil their contracts”).
    Synonyms:
    lame duck
  10. A long-necked medical urinal for men; a bed urinal.
  11. (UK, obsolete, slang) A faggot; a meatball made from offal.
  12. (US, slang) Synonym of bitch (“a man forced or coerced 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 April 19, Michael Rathbone, “Tell Someone”, in Gay Community News, page 4
    Synonyms:
    bitch

Noun (3)

duck (countable and uncountable, plural ducks)

  1. A tightly-woven cotton or linen fabric, often used as sailcloth.
    • Near-synonym: sailduck
    • He was dressed in a Jaeger vest—a pair of blue duck trousers, fastened round the waist with a plaited leather belt.1912, Katherine Mansfield, “The Woman At The Store”, in Selected Short Stories
    Synonyms:
    duckcloth, sailduck
  2. (in plural) Trousers made of such material.
    • And they would go up and find old Allington, in white ducks, standing in the fringe of long grasses and cow-parsley on the other edge of the island, looking to his poultry or his rabbits.1918 March, Rebecca West [pseudonym; Cicily Isabel Fairfield], chapter III, in The Return of the Soldier, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., published 1918, →OCLC, pages 67–68
    • A native servant emerged, anonymous in his white ducks and red fez, to say My Player was wanted on the telephone.1954, Doris Lessing, A Proper Marriage, HarperPerennial, published 1995, page 74

Noun (4)

duck (plural ducks)

  1. A term of endearment; pet; darling.
    • […]and hold-faſt is the onely Dogge: My Ducke[…]1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
    • M[other]: […] [W]e have your name on the bottom. What’s that say? R[ebecca]: P-A-me. M: P-A-me. Ha! (Yeah) That says B-E-C-C-A Becca. You’re a funny duck.1992, David Nunan, “[Interaction analysis] Questions and tasks”, in Research Methods in Language Learning (Cambridge Language Teaching Library), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press...
  2. An affectionate (sometimes slightly patronising or jocular) term for a person, often (in collocations old duck and dear old duck) an elderly woman.
    • Even if this dear old duck didn’t take off before the real fun began, she would be going to beddy-byes any time from now.1960, J. E. Macdonnell, Don't Gimme the Ships, Melbourne: Horwitz Publications, page 143
  3. (Midlands) Dear, mate (informal way of addressing a friend or stranger).
    • Ay up duck, ow'a'tha?

Verb (2)

duck (third-person singular simple present ducks, present participle ducking, simple past and past participle ducked)

  1. (transitive) To surreptitiously leave a rubber duck on someone's parked Jeep as an act of kindness (see Jeep ducking).
    • The couple has gotten messages from people they've ducked saying how happy it made them, and even some saying they might also start ducking.2020 July 29, Susannah Sudborough, “It may sound quacky, but Jeep ducking is a real thing and it's right here in Taunton”, in Taunton Daily Gazette, Taunton, Massachusetts
    • She didn't even notice the duck on her vehicles when she first was ducked in spring.2022 September 13, Breana Noble, “'World's largest rubber duck' at Detroit auto show celebrates Jeep 'ducking' movement”, in The Detroit News

Proper noun capitalized: Duck

Duck

  1. A surname transferred from the nickname.
  2. A town in North Carolina.
    • I drove north now, past Nags Head and Duck and beyond.1987 October, Charles E. Cobb, Jr., “North Carolina's Outer Banks”, in National Geographic, volume 172, number 4, page 506
  3. An unincorporated community in West Virginia.

Also used as

duck is also the ellipsis of architectural duck.

duck meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

duck in Hindi

aquatic bird of the family Anatidae
बतख़ batax, बत्तख battakh, बतख batakh, बत्तख़ battax, बत्तक battak
female duck
बत्तख़ battax, बतख batakh
flesh of a duck used as food
बतख़ batax

duck in Tamil

aquatic bird of the family Anatidae
வாத்து vāttu

duck in Marathi

aquatic bird of the family Anatidae
बदक badak

duck in Urdu

aquatic bird of the family Anatidae
بطخ batax
More languagesFewer languages
duck in Bengali
পাতিহাঁস patihãs, হাঁস hãs
duck in Telugu
బాతు bātu
duck in Malayalam
താറാവ് tāṟāvŭ
duck in Kannada
ಬಾತುಕೋಳಿ bātukōḷi, ಬಾತು bātu
duck in Punjabi
ਬਤਖ਼ batax
duck in Gujarati
બતક batak
duck in Odia
ବତକ bataka
duck in Sanskrit
कादम्ब kādamba
duck in Sinhala
තාරාවි tārāwi
duck in Assamese
হাঁহ hãh
duck in Nepali
हाँस hā̃s
duck in Pashto
پتخه patëxa, هېلۍ helëy
duck in Tagalog
itik, bibi
duck in Arabic
بَطَّة baṭṭa, بط baṭṭ, بطة baṭṭa, بَطّ
duck in Malay
itik, bebek, daging itik
duck in Indonesian
merunduk, menghindar, bebek
duck in Persian
بت bat, بط bat, مرغابی murġābī, اردک ordak
duck in Thai
เป็ด bpèt
duck in Vietnamese
cúi, ngụp, trốn, vịt
duck in Myanmar
ဘဲ bhai:
Sindhi
بَدَڪَ badaka
Dhivehi
އަސްދޫނި asdūni
Kashmiri
بَطُخ batux, بَطٕچ batục

Examples of duck in a sentence

  • That was the moment, but Senate Republicans ducked it.2024 January 19, Jonathan Freedland, “There is still a way to stop Donald Trump – but time is running out”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
  • She's gone out ducking with friends and family on shopping trips, in hospital parking lots and at Bishop International Airport in Flint, handing out more than 100 of the quackers.2022 September 13, Breana Noble, “'World's largest rubber duck' at Detroit auto show celebrates Jeep 'ducking' movement”, in The Detroit...

All 40 example sentences with duck

Synonyms of duck

2 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of duck

Forms of duck

Verb
third-person singular presentducks
present participleducking
past participleducked
pastducked
Noun
pluralducks
pluralduck
alternative formdook
alternative formdoock
alternative form (obsolete)ducke

Past tense of duck: ducked

Plural of duck: ducks

Origin of duck

From Middle English ducken, duken, douken (“to duck, plunge under water, submerge”), from Old English *dūcan (“to dip, dive, duck”), from Proto-West Germanic *dūkan, from Proto-Germanic *dūkaną (“to dip, dive, bend down, stoop, duck”). Cognates Related to Scots dulk (“to duck”), Middle Dutch ducken (“to duck”), Low German ducken (“to duck”), German ducken (“to duck”), Danish dukke, dykke (“to dive”). Related also to Scots dook, douk (“to bathe, drench, soak, baptise”), West Frisian dûke (“to plunge, dive”), Dutch duiken (“to dive, plunge, duck”), Low German duken (“to duck, dive, stoop”), German tauchen (“to dive, plunge, immerse, duck”), Swedish dyka (“to dive, submerge”).

From Middle English doke, ducke, dukke, dokke, douke, duke, from Old English duce, dūce (“duck”, literally “dipper, diver, ducker”), from Old English *dūcan (“to dip, dive, duck”), from Proto-West Germanic *dūkan, from Proto-Germanic *dūkaną (“to dive, bend down”). See verb above. Cognates Cognate with Scots duik, duke, dook (“duck”), Danish dukand, dykand (“sea-duck”), Swedish dykfågel (“a diver, diving bird, plungeon”), Dutch duiker (“diving bird, loon”, literally “diver, dipper, plunger”), German Low German Düker (“diving bird, loon”, literally “diver”), German Taucher (“diving bird, loon, grebe”, literally “diver, plunger”). For the meaning development compare Russian ныро́к (nyrók, “pochard”) (< ныря́ть (nyrjátʹ, “to dive”)).

From Dutch doek, from Middle Dutch doeck, doec (“linen cloth”), from Old Dutch *dōc, from Proto-West Germanic *dōk, from Proto-Germanic *dōkaz (“cloth, rag”), from Proto-Indo-European *dwōg-, *dwōk-. Cognate with German Tuch (“cloth”), Swedish duk (“cloth, canvas”), Icelandic dúkur (“cloth, fabric”). Doublet of doek.

Words formed from duck

Phrases with duck

149 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with duck

39 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about duck

What does duck mean?
Duck means to quickly lower (the head or body), often in order to prevent it from being struck by something.
What is duck in Hindi?
Duck in Hindi is बतख़ (batax), बत्तख (battakh), बतख (batakh). See Duck meaning in Hindi.
How do you use duck in a sentence?
That was the moment, but Senate Republicans ducked it.
What part of speech is duck?
Duck can be a verb, a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce duck?
Duck is pronounced /dʌk/.
What is the past tense of duck?
The past tense of duck is ducked.

Words near duck in the dictionary

  1. Duchy of Normandy
  2. Duchy of Rome
  3. Duchy of Schleswig
  4. duci
  5. DUCivR
  6. duck
  7. duck ague
  8. duck and cover
  9. duck and dive
  10. duck ant
  11. duck ants

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: duck (page history and authors); Duck (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-duck.ogg, EN-AU ck1 duck.ogg.

Cite this entry: “duck.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/duck. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.