- (plural ducks, duck)[countable] a common bird that lives on or near water and has short legs, webbed feet (= feet with thin pieces of skin between the toes) and a wide beak. There are many types of duck, some of which are kept for their meat or eggs.
- wild ducks
- duck eggs
- Every afternoon they went to the park to feed the ducks.
- Ducks were quacking noisily on the lake.
Extra ExamplesTopics Birdsa2- A flock of ducks bobbed near the shore.
- A rubber duck floated in the bath.
- Some species of duck dive for food, while others dabble for plants and insects near the surface.
- The ducks paddled furiously to grab the bread.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- wild
- long-tailed
- mallard
- …
- flock
- feed
- hunt
- quack
- paddle
- swim
- …
- breast
- confit
- egg
- …
- [countable] a female duck compare drakeTopics Birdsa2
- [uncountable] meat from a duck
- roast duck with orange sauce
- Slice the duck breast and serve.
- In a large saucepan, melt the duck fat.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- wild
- long-tailed
- mallard
- …
- flock
- feed
- hunt
- quack
- paddle
- swim
- …
- breast
- confit
- egg
- …
- (also duckie, ducks, ducky)[countable, usually singular] (British English, informal) a friendly way of speaking to somebody
- Anything else, duck?
- a duck[singular] (in cricket) a batter's score of zero
- He was out for a duck.
see also lame duck, sitting duck
Word Originnoun senses 1 to 3 Old English duce, from the Germanic base of duck in the verb sense (expressing the notion of ‘diving bird’). noun sense 5 mid 19th cent.: short for duck's egg, used for the figure 0 because of its similar outline. noun sense 4 late 16th cent.: from duck, the bird.
Idioms
See duck in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarya dead duck
- (informal) a plan, an event, etc. that has failed or is certain to fail and that is therefore not worth discussingTopics Difficulty and failurec2
get/have (all) your ducks in a row
- (especially North American English) to have made all the preparations needed to do something; to be well organized
- The company has its ducks in a row for a move into the Asian market.
- Get your ducks in a row before you retire.
(take to something) like a duck to water
- (to become used to something) very easily, without any problems or fears
- She has taken to teaching like a duck to water.
(like) water off a duck’s back
- (informal) used to say that something, especially criticism, has no effect on somebody/something
- I can't tell my son what to do; it's water off a duck's back with him.
Check pronunciation:
duck