duck

1 of 2

verb

ducked; ducking; ducks

intransitive verb

1

a

: to lower the head or body suddenly : dodge

b

: bow, bob

2

a

: to move quickly

b

: to evade a duty, question, or responsibility

3

a

: to plunge under the surface of water

b

: to descend suddenly : dip

transitive verb

1

: to lower (the head, the body, etc.) quickly : bow

2

: avoid, evade

duck the issue

3

British : to thrust (someone or something) underwater : dunk

ducker noun

ducker

2 of 2

noun

duck·​er

ˈdəkə(r)

plural -s

: one that scalds carcasses in a slaughterhouse

Synonyms of duck

Verb

• avoid
• evade
• escape

Examples of duck in a Sentence

Verb

The ceiling was so low I had to duck my head.

He ducked his head so they wouldn't see him.

We can't afford to duck the issue any longer.

They've been ducking each other for months.

She ducked into a store when it started to rain.

He ducked around a corner.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Now, 25 games and 577 days since the injury that put his career in jeopardy, there was All on the Bengals’ practice fields, cutting and accelerating, extending for receptions and ducking into blocking assignments. —Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 2 June 2026

Baker was hiding in the grassy area of a field and was seen ducking down as passing traffic approached, Hawaii Police Chief Reed Mahuna said in a press conference shown on Hawaii News Now and reviewed by PEOPLE. —Kc Baker, PEOPLE, 1 June 2026

He was spotted ducking down in a field as traffic passed by and fled before he was found in a small cave, police have said. —Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 1 June 2026

In fact, the Snapdragon C laptops will have to duck under the Windows 11 recommended hardware specifications to work with 8GB of memory and the smaller storage footprint that has proven successful with the MacBook Neo. —Ewan Spence, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English douken; akin to Old High German tūhhan to dive, Old English dūce duck

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 3

Phrases Containing duck

• black duck
• cold duck
• dead duck
• diving duck
• duck and drake
• duck-billed dinosaur
• duck-billed platypus
• duck call
• duck hook
• duck out
• duck sauce
• duck soup
• fish duck
• lame duck
• (like) water off a duck's back
• long-tailed duck
• lucky duck
• Muscovy duck
• odd duck
• Peking duck
• puddle duck
• ring-necked duck
• river duck
• ruddy duck
• sea duck
• sitting duck
• take to something like a duck (takes) to water
• wood duck

Rhymes for duck

• chuck
• cluck
• huck
• luck
• muck
• pluck
• puck
• ruck
• schmuck
• shuck
• snuck
• struck

Kids Definition

duck

1 of 4 noun

ˈdək 

plural duck or ducks

: any of various typically web-footed swimming birds with the neck and legs short, the body heavy, the bill often broad and flat, and the males and females usually differing in color

also : the flesh of a duck used as food

duck

2 of 4 verb

1

: to thrust or plunge underwater

2

: to lower the head or body suddenly

3

: to move quickly : disappear suddenly

he ducked around the corner to escape detection

4

: to evade a duty, question, or responsibility : dodge entry 2

ducked our question

ducker noun

duck

3 of 4 noun

1

: a coarse usually cotton cloth

2

plural : clothes made of duck

duck

4 of 4 noun

: an amphibious truck

Etymology

Noun

Old English dūce "duck"

Verb

Middle English douken "thrust under water"

Noun

from Dutch doek "cloth"

Noun

altered form of DUKW, military code name for this vehicle

Medical Definition

duck

noun

ˈdək 

plural ducks or duck

: any of various swimming birds (family Anatidae, the duck family) in which the neck and legs are short, the feet typically webbed, the bill often broad and flat, and the sexes usually different from each other in plumage