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

Several species including mallards, wood ducks, and mergansers can be spotted in the city's waterways year-round, according to Birding Around NYC. —Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 June 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

Some species, including wood ducks, buffleheads and mergansers, will stay in the forested areas of Wisconsin and Minnesota to nest in tree cavities. —Journal Sentinel, 22 Apr. 2024

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
• 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