plural scaup or scaups
: any of three diving ducks (Aythya affinis, A. novaeseelandiae, or A. marila) with the male having a glossy purplish or greenish head and a black breast and tail

Examples of scaup in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Again, like scaup and redheads, canvasbacks are usually hunted over open water behind a decoy spread numbering well into the triple digits. M.d. Johnson, Field & Stream, 30 Nov. 2023 Four redheads at Chestnut Hill Reservoir in Chestnut Hill four more redheads at Jamaica Pond in Jamaica Plain, and a lesser scaup at Leverett Pond in Boston. BostonGlobe.com, 31 Dec. 2022 Thursday morning flocks of bluebills, including both greater and lesser scaup, worked the area from first light. Paul A. Smith, Journal Sentinel, 24 Oct. 2022 See All Example Sentences for scaup

Word History

Etymology

short for scaup duck; scaup probably alteration of scalp bed of shellfish

First Known Use

1797, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of scaup was in 1797

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Cite this Entry

“Scaup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scaup. Accessed 1 Aug. 2026.

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