Definition of
Duck
- (noun, animal) small wild or domesticated web-footed broad-billed swimming bird usually having a depressed body and short legs
- (noun, artifact) a heavy cotton fabric of plain weave; used for clothing and tents
- (noun, food) flesh of a duck (domestic or wild)
- (noun, quantity) (cricket) a score of nothing by a batsman
- (verb, communication) avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues)
she skirted the problem
They tend to evade their responsibilities
he evaded the questions skillfully - (verb, motion) to move (the head or body) quickly downwards or away
- (verb, motion) submerge or plunge suddenly
- (verb, motion) dip into a liquid
via WordNet, Princeton University
Synonyms of Duck
circumvent, dip, dodge, douse, duck's egg, elude, evade, fudge, hedge, parry, put off, sidestep, skirt
Alternate forms of Duck
Derivations: ducking, duckling
Hyponyms: aix galericulata, aix sponsa, anas acuta, anas clypeata, anas penelope, anas platyrhynchos, anas rubripes, aythya americana, aythya ferina, aythya valisineria, beg, black duck, bluebill, broadbill, bucephela albeola, bucephela clangula, bufflehead, butterball, cairina moschata, canvasback, canvasback duck, dabbler, dabbling duck, dipper, diving duck, drake, duckling, goldeneye, mallard, mandarin duck, muscovy duck, musk duck, oxyura jamaicensis, pin-tailed duck, pintail, pochard, quack-quack, quibble, redhead, ruddy duck, scaup, scaup duck, sea duck, sheldrake, shoveler, shoveller, summer duck, teal, whistler, widgeon, wigeon, wild duck, wood duck, wood widgeon
Hypernyms: anseriform bird, avoid, cloth, dip, dive, douse, dunk, fabric, material, move, plunge, plunk, poultry, score, souse, textile
Origin of the word Duck
- 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 1580s. duck-walk is 1930s; duck soup "anyth… more
- "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." more
- "to plunge into" (trans.), c.1300; to suddenly go under water (intrans.), mid-14c., from presumed O.E. *ducan "to duck," found only in derivative duce (n.) "duck" (but there are cognate words in other Germanic languages, cf. Ger. tauchen "to dive"), from P.Gmc. *dukjan. Sense of "bend, stoop quickly" is first recorded in English 1520s. Related: Du… more
via Online Etymology Dictionary, ©2001 Douglas Harper
Words that sound like Duck
365 days, 366 days, d.c., dacca, dace, dacha, dachau, dachsie, dag, dagga, dago, dais, daishiki, daisy, dak, das, dash, dashiki, dassie, daucus, dawes, day watch, days, daze, dc, dci, ddc, dds, de sica, de-access, de-ice, dead duck, dead sea, death house, death tax, death wish, deathwatch, dec, dec 24, dec 25, decay, decease, decius, deck, deck-house, deco, decoke, decoy, deduce, deeds, degage, degas, degauss, dehisce, deice, deixis, dekko, des, desex, desk, detach
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