merganser

noun

mer·​gan·​ser (ˌ)mər-ˈgan(t)-sər 

: any of various fish-eating diving ducks (especially genus Mergus) with a slender bill hooked at the end and serrated along the margins and usually a crested head see common merganser

Illustration of merganser

Examples of merganser in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Then there’s the hooded merganser, which, despite its fairy-tale appearance, is one of the more common ducks along the Front Range in winter. — Jonathan Shikes, Denver Post, 26 Jan. 2026

Around me, bullfrogs croak, a family of hooded merganser ducks ripple the pond’s glassy surface, and the loamy aroma of fresh rain on moss permeates the landscape. — Arati Menon, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Apr. 2025

Like the loons and pelicans, the mergansers and the buffleheads, which breed in northern Minnesota and Canada, among other places, are just passing through. — Sheryl De Vore, Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2025

Wild birds − including hooded mergansers in captivity and bald eagles in the wild − have also contracted bird flu across the state in the last year, according to USDA. — Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY, 7 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Latin mergus, a waterfowl (from mergere) + anser goose — more at goose

First Known Use

1668, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing merganser

• common merganser

Rhymes for merganser

• enhancer
• romancer
• ansar
• anser
• answer
• cancer
• dancer
• lancer
• anticancer
• necromancer

Kids Definition

merganser

noun

mer·​gan·​ser (ˌ)mər-ˈgan(t)-sər 

plural mergansers or merganser

: any of various fish-eating wild ducks with a slender bill hooked at the end and usually with a bunch of feathers on the head that point backward