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duck1

Syllabification: (duck)
Pronunciation: /dək/
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. The duck family also includes geese and swans, from which ducks are distinguished by their generally smaller size and shorter necks
  • a duck as food:a duck for tomorrow’s dinner
  • 2a pure white thin-shelled bivalve mollusk 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.

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

water off a duck's back

a potentially hurtful or harmful remark or incident that has no apparent effect on the person mentioned:it was like water off a duck’s back to Nick, but I’m sure it upset Paul

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 British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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