duck

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A common water bird with a wide flat beak, short legs, and webbed feet, often seen on ponds and lakes.

   Grammar: Countable; plural is ducks. Use a/an or the before it: a duck, the duck.

   Patterns

   • a duck swims
   • feed the ducks
   • a duck pond

   We fed the ducks at the park yesterday.

   A mother duck led her ducklings across the road.

   The lake is full of ducks in the spring.

2. 2noununcountable

   The meat of this bird eaten as food.

   Grammar: Uncountable when referring to food; no plural form. Often used in dishes: roast duck, duck breast.

   Patterns

   • roast duck
   • duck with orange sauce
   • a slice of duck

   We had roast duck for dinner.

   This restaurant is famous for its duck.

   She ordered duck with plum sauce.

3. 3verbintransitive

   To lower your head or body quickly to avoid being hit or seen.

   Grammar: No object; often followed by a preposition or adverb: duck behind, duck down, duck under.

   Patterns

   • duck down
   • duck behind something
   • duck under something

   He ducked just as the ball flew past his head.

   She ducked behind the counter to hide.

   The soldiers ducked under the low doorway.

4. 4verbtransitive

   To avoid doing something or facing a difficult situation.

   Grammar: Takes an object: duck a question, duck responsibility.

   Patterns

   • duck a question
   • duck responsibility
   • duck an issue

   The politician ducked the reporter's question.

   He ducked his responsibilities and left the work to others.

   You can't duck this decision forever.

Word forms

Common combinations

duck down

He ducked down when he heard the gunshot.

duck out of

She tried to duck out of the meeting early.

duck under

The children ducked under the fence to get into the garden.

roast duck

Roast duck is a traditional dish in many countries.

a sitting duck

Without protection, the village was a sitting duck for the attackers.

Synonyms and how they differ

dodge

Dodge suggests a quick, often sideways movement to avoid something; duck focuses on lowering the body.

evade

Evade is more formal and often means avoiding something abstract like a duty or question, while duck is more physical or informal.

Word family

duckling noun

A young duck.

duckling noun

A young duck.

Commonly confused: duck or duct?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “duck”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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