Meaning & use
rubber duck
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Meanings
nouncountable
A small yellow plastic or rubber toy shaped like a duck, often used in the bath.
Grammar: Countable: one rubber duck, two rubber ducks.
Patterns
- a rubber duck
- rubber ducks
The baby splashed happily with her rubber duck in the bath.
He collects rubber ducks and has over fifty on his shelf.
She floated a rubber duck in the sink to make washing fun.
nouncountable
A plastic duck used as a target in shooting games or as a decoy in hunting.
Grammar: Countable; often used in the plural when referring to the game.
Patterns
- shoot rubber ducks
- a row of rubber ducks
At the fair, you could shoot rubber ducks with a toy gun.
The hunter set out rubber ducks to attract real ones.
Word forms
| plural | rubber ducks |
|---|
Common combinations
- rubber duck race
- The charity organized a rubber duck race down the river.
- rubber duck bath toy
- This rubber duck bath toy squeaks when you squeeze it.
- float a rubber duck
- The children loved to float a rubber duck in the pool.
- yellow rubber duck
- The classic yellow rubber duck is a favorite in many homes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- duckie
- A childish or affectionate term for a rubber duck; less formal.
- bath duck
- A less common term that specifically refers to a rubber duck used in the bath.
Word family
- rubber duckie noun
- A variant spelling, often used for the toy duck.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'rubber duck' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A rubber duck is a toy, so it is used in the bath or as a plaything. Options 0 and 3 describe a real duck, and option 2 is not a typical use of a toy.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “rubber duck”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.