break one's duck

verb

To score one's first run in an innings.

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Meanings

verbbreak one's duck (third-person singular simple present breaks one's duck, present participle breaking one's duck, simple past broke one's duck, past participle broken one's duck)

present singular third person breaks one's duck · participle present breaking one's duck · past broke one's duck · participle past broken one's duck

  1. ball gamesTo score one's first run in an innings.
  2. CommonwealthUKbroadlyidiomaticTo do something for the first time.

    Best had come on as a substitute in the 1-0 win at Wigan last weekend and wasted a goalscoring opportunity after stumbling as he was about to shoot, so many of the fans in black and white could have been forgiven for thinking that perhaps the burly forward was destined not to break his duck.

    2011 January 5, Saj Chowdhury, “Newcastle 0 - 0 West Ham”, in BBC

Origin

From cricket, where duck means a score of zero.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

break one's duck. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/break%20one's%20duck

MLA

“break one's duck.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/break%20one's%20duck. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “break one's duck,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/break%20one's%20duck.

Source: break one's duck on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.