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duck1

Pronunciation: /dʌk/
Translate duck | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of duck

noun (plural same or ducks)

  • 1a waterbird with a broad blunt bill, short legs, webbed feet, and a waddling gait.
    • Family Anatidae (the duck family); domesticated ducks are mainly descended from the mallard or wild duck. The duck family also includes geese and swans, from which ducks are distinguished by their generally smaller size and shorter necks
  • a female duck. Contrasted with drake1.
  • a duck as food: [mass noun]:a tangy stew of duck, lamb, and sausage
  • 2a pure white thin-shelled bivalve mollusc found off the Atlantic coasts of America.
    • Genus Anatina, family Mactridae

Phrases

get (or have) one's ducks in a row

North American informal get (or have) one’s facts straight; get (or have) everything organized: I want to have my ducks in a row before I go in there and confront them

like water off a duck's back

referring to a potentially hurtful remark which has no apparent effect on the person involved:it was like water off a duck’s back to Nick, but I’m sure it upset Paul

take to something like a duck to water

take to something very readily:he shows every sign of taking to University politics like a duck to water

Origin:

Old English duce, from the Germanic base of duck2 (expressing the notion of 'diving bird')

duck in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of duck in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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