duck

present singular third person ducks · participle present ducking · participle past ducked · past ducked

1. transitiveTo 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 aside

   c. 1729, Jonathan Swift, To Dr. Delany on the Libels Written Against Him

   1 more example

   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. transitiveTo 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 II, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book III, page 122

   Synonyms: dip, dunk

3. intransitiveTo 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 the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC, page 22

4. intransitiveTo 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 Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii], page 90, column 2

5. figurativelytransitiveTo evade doing something, especially something considered a responsibility.

   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

   2 more examples

   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. transitiveTo 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. colloquialintransitiveTo enter a place for a short moment.

   I'm just going to duck into the loo for a minute; can you hold my bag?

plural ducks

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

plural ducks · alternative obsolete ducke

1. countableuncountableAny 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.

   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

   1 more example

   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

2. countableuncountableSpecifically, an adult female duck; contrasted with drake and with duckling.

   Synonyms: duckess

3. uncountableThe flesh of a duck used as food.

   Synonyms: duckflesh, duckmeat

4. countableuncountableball gamesA batsman's score of zero after getting out. (Short for duck's egg.)

   ‘How do you like your duck, Harris?’ one raucous voice yelled.

   1961, Tom Mead, Killers of Eden, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 155

5. countableslanguncountableA playing card with the rank of two.
6. abbreviationcountableellipsisuncountableEllipsis of architectural duck; a building intentionally constructed in the shape of an everyday object to which it is related.

   A luncheonette in the shape of a coffee cup is particularly conspicuous, as is intended of an architectural duck or folly.

   4 more examples

   The Big Duck has influenced the world of architecture; any building that is shaped like its product is called a ‘duck’.

   2007 February 21, Cynthia Blair, “It Happened on Long Island: 1988—Suffolk County Adopts the Big Duck”, in Newsday

   Love them or hate them, ducks have a light-hearted presence in our architectural history.

   2017 July 8, Syed, Sabrina, ArchDaily

   Today, “ducks” continue to crop up across America and beyond, but they are no longer relegated to strips and roadsides alone; in many cases, they’ve entered the tight-knit landscape of cities ...

   2019 June 10, Gotthardt, Alexxa, “The Quirky, Endearing Tradition of “Duck” Architecture”, in artsy.net

   In Las Vegas, Ducks thrive because resorts often transform themselves into oversized symbols of the fantasy they promise.

   2025 September 30, Duck Duck Shed

   Synonyms: duck building

7. countableuncountableA marble to be shot at with another marble (the shooter) in children's games.
8. UScountableuncountableA cairn used to mark a trail.
9. countableuncountableOne of the weights used to hold a spline in place for the purpose of drawing a curve.
10. countabledatedslanguncountablebusinessSynonym of lame duck (“one who cannot fulfil their contracts”).

    Synonyms: lame duck

11. countableuncountablemedicineA long-necked medical urinal for men; a bed urinal.
12. UKcountableobsoleteslanguncountableA faggot; a meatball made from offal.
13. UScountableslanguncountableSynonym 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

plural ducks · alternative dook · alternative doock

1. countableuncountableA tightly-woven cotton or linen fabric, often used as sailcloth.

   Near-synonym: sailduck

   1 more example

   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. countablein pluraluncountableTrousers made of such material.

   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

   1 more example

   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

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, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii], page 75, column 2

   1 more example

   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, →ISBN, page 178

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. MidlandsDear, mate (informal way of addressing a friend or stranger).

   Ay up duck, ow'a'tha?

present singular third person ducks · participle present ducking · participle past ducked · past ducked

1. transitiveTo surreptitiously leave a rubber duck on someone's parked Jeep as an act of kindness (see Jeep ducking).

   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

   2 more examples

   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'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 News, archived from the original on 24 Sep 2022

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.