duck.
To quickly lower (the head or body), often in order to prevent it from being struck by something.
Meaning & usage
To quickly lower (the head or body), often in order to prevent it from being struck by something.
To lower (something) into water; to thrust or plunge under liquid and suddenly withdraw.
To go under the surface of water and immediately reappear; to plunge one's head into water or other liquid.
To bow.
To evade doing something, especially something considered a responsibility.
To lower the volume of (a sound) so that other sounds in the mix can be heard more clearly.
To enter a place for a short moment.
I'm just going to duck into the loo for a minute; can you hold my bag?
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *dūkaną Proto-West Germanic *dūkan Old English *dūcan Middle English ducken English duck From Middle English ducken, duken, douken (“to duck, plunge under water, submerge”), from Old English *dūcan (“to dip, dive, duck”), from Proto-West Germanic *dūkan, from Proto-Germanic *dūkaną (“to dip, dive, bend down, stoop, duck”). Cognates Related to Scots dulk (“to duck”), Middle Dutch ducken (“to duck”), Low German ducken (“to duck”), German ducken (“to duck”), Danish dukke, dykke (“to dive”). Related also to Scots dook, douk (“to bathe, drench, soak, baptise”), West Frisian dûke (“to plunge, dive”), Dutch duiken (“to dive, plunge, duck”), Low German duken (“to duck, dive, stoop”), German tauchen (“to dive, plunge, immerse, duck”), Swedish dyka (“to dive, submerge”).
A cave passage containing water with low, or no, airspace.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *dūkaną Proto-West Germanic *dūkan Old English *dūcan Middle English ducken English duck From Middle English ducken, duken, douken (“to duck, plunge under water, submerge”), from Old English *dūcan (“to dip, dive, duck”), from Proto-West Germanic *dūkan, from Proto-Germanic *dūkaną (“to dip, dive, bend down, stoop, duck”). Cognates Related to Scots dulk (“to duck”), Middle Dutch ducken (“to duck”), Low German ducken (“to duck”), German ducken (“to duck”), Danish dukke, dykke (“to dive”). Related also to Scots dook, douk (“to bathe, drench, soak, baptise”), West Frisian dûke (“to plunge, dive”), Dutch duiken (“to dive, plunge, duck”), Low German duken (“to duck, dive, stoop”), German tauchen (“to dive, plunge, immerse, duck”), Swedish dyka (“to dive, submerge”).
Any of certain aquatic birds of the family Anatidae, having a flat bill and webbed feet, distinguished from swans and geese by generally being smaller and shorter-necked.
Specifically, an adult female duck; contrasted with drake and with duckling.
The flesh of a duck used as food.
A batsman's score of zero after getting out. (Short for duck's egg.)
A playing card with the rank of two.
Ellipsis of architectural duck; a building intentionally constructed in the shape of an everyday object to which it is related.
A luncheonette in the shape of a coffee cup is particularly conspicuous, as is intended of an architectural duck or folly.
A marble to be shot at with another marble (the shooter) in children's games.
A cairn used to mark a trail.
One of the weights used to hold a spline in place for the purpose of drawing a curve.
Synonym of lame duck (“one who cannot fulfil their contracts”).
A long-necked medical urinal for men; a bed urinal.
A faggot; a meatball made from offal.
Synonym of bitch (“a man forced or coerced into a homosexual relationship, especially in prison”).
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *dūkaną Proto-West Germanic *dūkan Old English dū̆ce Middle English doke English duck From Middle English doke, ducke, dukke, dokke, douke, duke, from Old English duce, dūce (“duck”, literally “dipper, diver, ducker”), from Old English *dūcan (“to dip, dive, duck”), from Proto-West Germanic *dūkan, from Proto-Germanic *dūkaną (“to dive, bend down”). See verb above. Cognates Cognate with Scots duik, duke, dook (“duck”), Danish dukand, dykand (“sea-duck”), Swedish dykfågel (“a diver, diving bird, plungeon”), Dutch duiker (“diving bird, loon”, literally “diver, dipper, plunger”), German Low German Düker (“diving bird, loon”, literally “diver”), German Taucher (“diving bird, loon, grebe”, literally “diver, plunger”). For the meaning development compare Russian ныро́к (nyrók, “pochard”) (< ныря́ть (nyrjátʹ, “to dive”)).
A tightly-woven cotton or linen fabric, often used as sailcloth.
Trousers made of such material.
Where this word comes from
From Dutch doek, from Middle Dutch doeck, doec (“linen cloth”), from Old Dutch *dōc, from Proto-West Germanic *dōk, from Proto-Germanic *dōkaz (“cloth, rag”), from Proto-Indo-European *dwōg-, *dwōk-. Cognate with German Tuch (“cloth”), Swedish duk (“cloth, canvas”), Icelandic dúkur (“cloth, fabric”). Doublet of doek.
A term of endearment; pet; darling.
An affectionate (sometimes slightly patronising or jocular) term for a person, often (in collocations old duck and dear old duck) an elderly woman.
Dear, mate (informal way of addressing a friend or stranger).
Ay up duck, ow'a'tha?
Where this word comes from
Potteries dialect, Black Country dialect and dialects of the former territory of Mercia (central England). Compare Danish dukke (“doll”), Swedish docka (“baby; doll”), dialectal English doxy (“sweetheart”).
To surreptitiously leave a rubber duck on someone's parked Jeep as an act of kindness (see Jeep ducking).
Where this word comes from
Denominal verb of duck (noun) and ellipsis of rubber duck
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.