Verb

duck (third-person singular simple present ducks, present participle ducking, simple past and past participle ducked)Category:English lemmas#DUCKCategory:English verbs#DUCKCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#DUCKCategory:Pages with entries#DUCKCategory:Pages with 3 entries#DUCK

1. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#DUCK) To quickly lower (the head or body), often in order to prevent it from being struck by something.
   • c. 1729, Jonathan Swift, To Dr. Delany on the Libels Written Against Him:

     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

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   • 1989, Grant Naylor, Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers:

     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.

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2. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#DUCK) To lower (something) into water; to thrust or plunge under liquid and suddenly withdraw.
   • 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:

     Adams after ducking the Squire tvvice or thrice leaped out of the Tub, […]

     Category:English terms with quotations#DUCK

3. (intransitiveCategory:English intransitive verbs#DUCK) To go under the surface of water and immediately reappear; to plunge one's head into water or other liquid.
   • 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:

     […] In Tiber ducking thrice, by break of day […]

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4. (intransitiveCategory:English intransitive verbs#DUCK) To bow.
   • 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:

     The Learned pate / Duckes to the Golden Foole.

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5. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#DUCK, figurative) To evade doing something, especially something considered a responsibility.
   • 2018 July 21, Kathryn Hughes, “The strange cult of Emily Brontë and the 'hot mess' of Wuthering Heights”, in The Guardian‎:

     Victorian women choosing to duck the demands of domestic life to spend their time doing something they enjoyed is hardly a novel idea.

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   • 2023 July 12, Mel Holley, “Network News: RDG presses ahead with ticket office closure plan”, in RAIL, number 987, page 7:

     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.

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   • 2024 January 19, Jonathan Freedland, “There is still a way to stop Donald Trump – but time is running out”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:

     That was the moment, but Senate Republicans ducked it.

     Category:English terms with quotations#DUCK

6. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#DUCK) To lower the volume of (a sound) so that other sounds in the mix can be heard more clearly.
   • 2007, Alexander U. Case, Sound FX: unlocking the creative potential of recording studio effects, page 183:

     The music is ducked under the voice.

     Category:English terms with quotations#DUCK

7. (intransitiveCategory:English intransitive verbs#DUCK, colloquialCategory:English colloquialisms#DUCK) To enter a place for a short moment.

   I'm just going to duck into the loo for a minute; can you hold my bag?Category:English terms with usage examples#DUCK

Noun

duck (plural ducks)Category:English lemmas#DUCKCategory:English nouns#DUCKCategory:English countable nouns#DUCKCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#DUCKCategory:Pages with entries#DUCKCategory:Pages with 3 entries#DUCK

1. (cavingCategory:en:Caving#DUCK) A cave passage containing water with low, or no, airspace.

 duck on Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• ducke (obsolete)

Noun

duck (countable and uncountable, plural ducks or duck)Category:English lemmas#DUCKCategory:English nouns#DUCKCategory:English uncountable nouns#DUCKCategory:English countable nouns#DUCKCategory:English countable nouns#DUCKCategory:English nouns with irregular plurals#DUCKCategory:English indeclinable nouns#DUCKCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#DUCKCategory:Pages with entries#DUCKCategory:Pages with 3 entries#DUCK

1. Any 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.

   Hyponyms: drake, duckling

   • 2023 May 18, David McElhenney, “13 of Japan’s best castles”, in CNN‎:

     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.

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   • 2025 January 23, John Towfighi, “Stripe accidentally sends image of cartoon duck to laid-off employees”, in CNN‎:

     The payment processor’s layoffs and the curious incident of the duck were first reported by Business Insider.

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

   Synonym: (rare) duckess

4. (uncountableCategory:English uncountable nouns#DUCK) The flesh of a duck used as food.

   Synonyms: duckflesh, duckmeat

5. (cricketCategory:en:Cricket#DUCK) A batsman's score of zero after getting out. (Short for duck's egg.)
6. (slangCategory:English slang#DUCK) A playing card with the rank of two.
7. Ellipsis of architectural duckCategory:English ellipses#DUCK; a building intentionally constructed in the shape of an everyday object to which it is related.

   Synonym: duck building

   Coordinate term: duck architecture

   A luncheonette in the shape of a coffee cup is particularly conspicuous, as is intended of an architectural duck or folly.Category:English terms with usage examples#DUCK

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

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

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   • 2017 July 8, Syed, Sabrina, ArchDaily‎:

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

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

     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 ...

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   • 2025 September 30, Duck Duck Shed‎:

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

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8. A marble to be shot at with another marble (the shooter) in children's games.
9. (USCategory:American English#DUCK) A cairn used to mark a trail.
10. One of the weights used to hold a spline in place for the purpose of drawing a curve.
11. (financeCategory:en:Finance#DUCK, slangCategory:English slang#DUCK, datedCategory:English dated terms#DUCK) Synonym of lame duck (“one who cannot fulfil their contracts”).
12. (medicineCategory:en:Medicine#DUCK) A long-necked medical urinal for men; a bed urinal.
13. (UKCategory:British English#DUCK, slangCategory:English slang#DUCK, obsoleteCategory:English terms with obsolete senses#DUCK) A faggot; a meatball made from offal.
14. (USCategory:American English#DUCK, LGBTQCategory:en:LGBTQ#DUCK, prison slangCategory:English prison slang#DUCK) Synonym of bitch (“a man forced or coerced into a homosexual relationship, especially in prison”).
    • 1986 April 19, Michael Rathbone, “Tell Someone”, in Gay Community News, page 4:

      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.

      Category:English terms with quotations#DUCK

See also

References

• Weisenberg, Michael (2000) The Official Dictionary of Poker. MGI/Mike Caro University. →ISBN
• (faggot, meatball): 1873, John Camden Hotten, The Slang Dictionary

Alternative forms

• dook, doock (Scotland)

Noun

duck (countable and uncountable, plural ducks)Category:English lemmas#DUCKCategory:English nouns#DUCKCategory:English uncountable nouns#DUCKCategory:English countable nouns#DUCKCategory:English countable nouns#DUCKCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#DUCKCategory:Pages with entries#DUCKCategory:Pages with 3 entries#DUCK

2. A tightly-woven cotton or linen fabric, often used as sailcloth.

   Synonym: duckcloth

   Hypernyms: cloth, fabric, textile, material (fabric sense) < material (matter sense), matter, stuff

   Coordinate terms: waxed cotton, cotton wax, tarpaulin

   Near-synonym: sailduck

   • 1912, Katherine Mansfield, “The Woman At The Store”, in Selected Short Stories:

     He was dressed in a Jaeger vest—a pair of blue duck trousers, fastened round the waist with a plaited leather belt.

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3. (in the plural) Trousers made of such material.
   • 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:

     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.

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   • 1954, Doris Lessing, A Proper Marriage, HarperPerennial, published 1995, page 74:

     A native servant emerged, anonymous in his white ducks and red fez, to say My Player was wanted on the telephone.

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Noun

duck (plural ducks)Category:English lemmas#DUCKCategory:English nouns#DUCKCategory:English countable nouns#DUCKCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#DUCKCategory:Pages with entries#DUCKCategory:Pages with 3 entries#DUCK

1. A term of endearment; pet; darling.
   • 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:

     […] and hold-faſt is the onely Dogge: My Ducke […]

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2. (MidlandsCategory:Midlands English#DUCK) Dear, mate (informal way of addressing a friend or stranger).

   Ay up duck, ow'a'tha?Category:English terms with usage examples#DUCK