Link Centre Dictionary

duck

UK/dʌk/ US/dʊk/ common slang uk us
verb (4) noun (4)

verb

1.

to move (the head or body) quickly downwards or away

  • “Before he could duck, another stone struck him”
2.
3.

dip into a liquid

  • “He dipped into the pool”
Synonyms
4.

avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues)

  • “He dodged the issue”
  • “she skirted the problem”
  • “They tend to evade their responsibilities”
  • “he evaded the questions skillfully”
Synonyms

noun

1.
2.

(cricket) a score of nothing by a batsman

Synonyms
3.

flesh of a duck (domestic or wild)

4.

a heavy cotton fabric of plain weave; used for clothing and tents

Origin

From Middle English ducken, duken, douken (“to duck, plunge under water, submerge”), from Old English *dūcan (“to dip, dive, duck”), from Proto-West Germanic *dūkan, from Proto-Germanic *dūkaną (“to dip, dive, bend down, stoop, duck”).

Phrases

  • all duck or no dinner
  • American black duck
  • architectural duck
  • aromatic duck
  • ay up me duck
  • baby duck syndrome
  • Beijing duck
  • Black Duck
  • duck and cover
  • duck and dive
  • duck down
  • duck off

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

Part of

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.