duck

verb

1. (transitive)To quickly lower (the head or body), often in order to prevent it from being struck by something.

   “As some raw youth in country bred, To arms by thirst of honour led, When at a skirmish first he hears The bullets whistling round his ears, Will duck his head aside”

   “Rimmer ducked his body low into his chair, so just his head remained above the table top, and peered past the backs of the examinees in front of him, waiting for the adjudicator to make his move.”

2. (transitive)To lower (something) into water; to thrust or plunge under liquid and suddenly withdraw.

   “Adams after ducking the Squire tvvice or thrice leaped out of the Tub, […]”

3. (intransitive)To go under the surface of water and immediately reappear; to plunge one's head into water or other liquid.

   “[…]In Tiber ducking thrice, by break of day[…]”

4. (intransitive)To bow.

   “The Learned pate / Duckes to the Golden Foole.”

5. (figuratively, transitive)To evade doing something, especially something considered a responsibility.

   “Victorian women choosing to duck the demands of domestic life to spend their time doing something they enjoyed is hardly a novel idea.”

   “But pressed by Labour's Marsha de Cordov in the House of Commons on June 29, on "whether he plans to reduce the total number of ticket offices", Merriman ducked the question but confirmed that the Government wants to close ticket offices.”

   “That was the moment, but Senate Republicans ducked it.”

6. (transitive)To lower the volume of (a sound) so that other sounds in the mix can be heard more clearly.

   “The music is ducked under the voice.”

7. (colloquial, intransitive)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?”

8. (transitive)To surreptitiously leave a rubber duck on someone's parked Jeep as an act of kindness (see Jeep ducking).

   “The couple has gotten messages from people they've ducked saying how happy it made them, and even some saying they might also start ducking.”

   “She didn't even notice the duck on her vehicles when she first was ducked in spring.”

noun

1. A cave passage containing water with low, or no, airspace.
2. (countable, uncountable)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.

   “Matsumoto Castle exhibits the architecture of both war and peace, from its steep wooden stairs, hidden inner levels and archer’s perches to the moon-viewing room added in 1630, which also offers a vantage point for viewing the brocaded carps and ducks residing in the castle moat.”

   “The payment processor’s layoffs and the curious incident of the duck were first reported by Business Insider.”

3. (countable, uncountable)Specifically, an adult female duck; contrasted with drake and with duckling.
4. (uncountable)The flesh of a duck used as food.
5. (countable, uncountable)A batsman's score of zero after getting out. (Short for duck's egg.)
6. (countable, slang, uncountable)A playing card with the rank of two.
7. (abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable)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.”

   “The Big Duck has influenced the world of architecture; any building that is shaped like its product is called a ‘duck’.”

   “Love them or hate them, ducks have a light-hearted presence in our architectural history.”

   “Today, “ducks” continue to crop up across America and beyond, but they are no longer relegated to strips and roadsides alone; in many cases, they’ve entered the tight-knit landscape of cities ...”

   “In Las Vegas, Ducks thrive because resorts often transform themselves into oversized symbols of the fantasy they promise.”

8. (countable, uncountable)A marble to be shot at with another marble (the shooter) in children's games.
9. (US, countable, uncountable)A cairn used to mark a trail.
10. (countable, uncountable)One of the weights used to hold a spline in place for the purpose of drawing a curve.
11. (countable, dated, slang, uncountable)Synonym of lame duck (“one who cannot fulfil their contracts”).
12. (countable, uncountable)A long-necked medical urinal for men; a bed urinal.
13. (UK, countable, obsolete, slang, uncountable)A faggot; a meatball made from offal.
14. (US, countable, slang, uncountable)Synonym of bitch (“a man forced or coerced into a homosexual relationship, especially in prison”).

    “The more passive males are subjected to physical violence. I was subjected to being what they call a punk or a duck, which is someone else's power trip, that's all.”

15. (countable, uncountable)A tightly-woven cotton or linen fabric, often used as sailcloth.

    “Near-synonym: sailduck”

    “He was dressed in a Jaeger vest—a pair of blue duck trousers, fastened round the waist with a plaited leather belt.”

16. (countable, in-plural, uncountable)Trousers made of such material.

    “And they would go up and find old Allington, in white ducks, standing in the fringe of long grasses and cow-parsley on the other edge of the island, looking to his poultry or his rabbits.”

    “A native servant emerged, anonymous in his white ducks and red fez, to say My Player was wanted on the telephone.”

17. A term of endearment; pet; darling.

    “[…]and hold-faſt is the onely Dogge: My Ducke[…]”

18. (Midlands)Dear, mate (informal way of addressing a friend or stranger).

    “Ay up duck, ow'a'tha?”

name

1. A surname transferred from the nickname.
2. A town in North Carolina.
3. An unincorporated community in West Virginia.
4. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis)Ellipsis of architectural duck