duck

duck
duck1 S3 [dʌk] n
[: Old English; Origin: duce]
1.)
a very common water bird with short legs and a wide beak, used for its meat, eggs, and soft feathers
2.)
a female duck
→↑drake
3.) [U]
the meat of a duck used as food
roast duck with orange sauce
4.) take to sth like a duck to water
to learn how to do something very easily
She took to dancing like a duck to water.
5.) also ducks
BrE spoken used to speak to someone, especially a woman, in a friendly way
What can I get you, ducks?
6.)
a ↑score of zero by a ↑batsman in a game of ↑cricket
→↑dead duck, lame duck,like water off a duck's back atwater1 (8), ↑ducks and drakes, sitting duck
duck 2
duck2 v
1.) also duck down [I and T]
to lower your head or body very quickly, especially to avoid being seen or hit
If she hadn't ducked, the ball would have hit her.
duck behind/under etc
Jamie saw his father coming and ducked quickly behind the wall.
Tim ducked down to comb his hair in the mirror.
She ducked her head to look more closely at the inscription.
2.) [I always + adverb/preposition]
to move somewhere very quickly, especially to avoid being seen or to get away from someone
duck into
The two men ducked into a block of flats and disappeared.
duck out of
She ducked out of the door before he could stop her.
duck back
'Wait a minute', he called, ducking back inside.
3.) [T] informal
to avoid something, especially a difficult or unpleasant duty
= ↑dodge
The ruling body wanted to duck the issue of whether players had been cheating.
Glazer ducked a question about his involvement in the bank scandal.
4.) [T]
to push someone under water for a short time as a joke
duck sb under sth
Tom grabbed him from behind to duck him under the surface.
duck out of [duck out of sth] phr v
to avoid doing something that you have to do or have promised to do
I always ducked out of history lessons at school.

Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • DUCK — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Duck peut faire référence à : « canard » en anglais ; « se pencher » en anglais, comme dans le titre du film Duck and Cover …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Duck — Duck, n. [OE. duke, doke. See {Duck}, v. t. ] 1. (Zool.) Any bird of the subfamily {Anatin[ae]}, family {Anatid[ae]}. [1913 Webster] Note: The genera and species are numerous. They are divided into {river ducks} and {sea ducks}. Among the former… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • duck — Ⅰ. duck [1] ► NOUN (pl. same or ducks) 1) a waterbird with a broad blunt bill, short legs, webbed feet, and a waddling gait. 2) the female of such a bird. Contrasted with DRAKE(Cf. ↑drake). 3) (also ducks) Brit. informal …   English terms dictionary

  • duck — duck; duck·er; duck·let; duck·ling; geo·duck; mal·duck; shel·duck; shell·duck; duck·ing; goo·ey·duck; …   English syllables

  • Duck — Duck, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Ducked}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Ducking}.] [OE. duken, douken, to dive; akin to D. duiken, OHG. t?hhan, MHG. tucken, t[ u]cken, t?chen, G. tuchen. Cf. 5th {Duck}.] 1. To thrust or plunge under water or other liquid and… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • duck — duck1 [duk] n. [ME doke < OE duce, lit., diver, ducker < base of * ducan, to plunge, dive (see DUCK2); replaces OE ened (akin to Ger ente), common Gmc word for the bird ] 1. pl. ducks or duck any of a large number of relatively small… …   English World dictionary

  • duck|y — «DUHK ee», adjective, duck|i|er, duck|i|est, noun, plural duck|ies. Informal. –adj. 1. darling; charmi …   Useful english dictionary

  • Dück — ist der Name folgender Personen: Alexander Dück (* 1980), deutscher Eishockeyspieler Anton von Dück (1801–1866), österreichischer Kaufmann und Politiker Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterscheidung mehrerer mit demselben Wort… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • duck — dək n, pl 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 usu. different from each other in plumage …   Medical dictionary

  • Duck — (d[u^]k), v. i. 1. To go under the surface of water and immediately reappear; to dive; to plunge the head in water or other liquid; to dip. [1913 Webster] In Tiber ducking thrice by break of day. Dryden. [1913 Webster] 2. To drop the head or… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Duck — (d[u^]k), n. [Cf. Dan. dukke, Sw. docka, OHG. doccha, G. docke. Cf. {Doxy}.] A pet; a darling. Shak. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”