duck1 nounduck2 verb
duckduck1 /dʌk/ ●●● S3 noun 
1
[countable] a very common water bird with short legs and a wide beak, used for its meat, eggs, and soft feathers2[countable] a female duck3[uncountable] the meat of a duck used as food: 
roast duck with orange sauce4take to something 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) British English spoken used to speak to someone, especially a woman, in a friendly way: What can I get you, ducks?6[countable] a score of zero by a batsman in a game of cricket → dead duck, lame duck, → like water off a duck’s back at water1(8), → ducks and drakes, sitting duckCOLLOCATIONSverbsa duck quacks (=makes the sound ducks make)· The ducks on the river started quacking.a duck waddles (=walks moving its body from side to side)· Ducks were waddling across the grass.a duck paddles (=swims by moving its feet under the water)· Ducks and swans paddled towards us.a duck dives (=puts its head down under the water)· A single wild duck was swimming and diving.a duck bobs (=moves up and down on the water)· They watched the ducks bobbing up and down on the waves.duck + NOUNa duck pond (=a small area of water where there are ducks)· The park has a duck pond which the children like.duck1 nounduck2 verb
duckduck2 verb VERB TABLE
duck
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | duck |
| he, she, it | ducks | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | ducked |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have ducked |
| he, she, it | has ducked | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had ducked |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will duck |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have ducked |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am ducking |
| he, she, it | is ducking | |
| you, we, they | are ducking | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was ducking |
| you, we, they | were ducking | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been ducking |
| he, she, it | has been ducking | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been ducking |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be ducking |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been ducking |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- I forgot to duck and hit my head on the branch.
- It was a good thing that I ducked when the wind blew the sail around.
- Josie ducked and the vase smashed against the wall.
- Culley ducked his face into his shoulder and wiped sweat on to his shirt.
- He ducked under her arm and slammed his elbow into her back knocking her into the wall.
- He did it again, and I would duck.
- He has ducked, bobbed and weaved with it, but he is clearly embarrassed by it now.
- He wriggled into the impulse-suit, ducked his head into the helmet.
- Others just plunged, simply ducked down and pushed out, fighting up, reaching for air.
- The bottom was pebbles, the water was sun-warmed; she ducked her head under and came up feeling faintly sick.
Longman Language Activatorto avoid being hit or seen
to move so that you do not hit something or get hit by it: · I had to swerve to avoid the truck.avoid doing something: · Penny jumped out of the way to avoid being hit by the falling branch.
to move quickly in order to avoid something dangerous that is moving towards you: · "Get out of the way!" he yelled, as the truck rolled down the hill.get out of the way of: · She had to run to the sidewalk to get out of the way of the car.
to move your head and the top part of your body down in order to avoid something: · I forgot to duck and hit my head on the branch.· Josie ducked and the vase smashed against the wall.
to avoid something or someone by moving sideways: · We had to run across some open ground, dodging the bullets.· He almost caught me, but I dodged and ran across the road.dodge behind/into/through: · When Kevin saw the soldiers, he dodged into an alley.
to avoid a difficult question or subject to not talk about a subject or not answer a question, because you do not want to cause embarrassment or problems for yourself: · Try to avoid subjects like sex or religion that might offend people.· Typical politician! He just kept avoiding the question.
to avoid a particular subject or a question because you are trying to hide something: · Steve evaded the question when I asked him why he had left work so early.· The best interviewers make it impossible for politicians to evade the questions.
someone who is evasive tries to avoid answering questions or explaining their plans, because they want to hide something: · When we asked him where his wife was, O'Hare suddenly became evasive.· All their questions were met with vague, evasive answers.
informal to avoid answering a question or talking about a subject, especially by talking about something else instead: · Once again the management dodged the issue of salary increases.· Even if you don't agree with him, you have to admit Senator Connors never ducks a question.· He sidestepped the question, and talked instead about plans for the future.
British /beat around the bush American to avoid talking about the most important detail of something and talk about other details instead, because you are embarrassed, not confident etc: · Don't beat about the bush - get to the point.· If you want to leave, just say so instead of beating around the bush.
to avoid a subject or problem, especially because you are afraid, embarrassed, or do not want to offend other people: · Parents often shy away from discussing sex with their children.
to avoid doing something that you should do · You can't go on avoiding your responsibilities forever.· Import duties on some goods can be avoided if you know how.avoid doing something · Do you think he's gone away to avoid talking to the police?· She's a good manager, because she never avoids dealing with the problems of her staff.· You may be able to avoid paying income tax on the money that you save.
informal to avoid doing something that you should do or that you have promised to do: · I was supposed to stay at home with my baby sister today, but I'll try to get out of it.get out of doing something: · He always manages to get out of paying for the drinks.
informal to avoid doing something that you have to do or have promised to do especially in a way that makes people not like or respect you: · It's illegal for these companies to duck out of their responsibilities by changing their names.duck out of doing something: · Miller has been widely criticized for trying to duck out on paying back the loans.
also weasel (your way) out of American to avoid doing something you should do by making up excuses: · He's somehow managed to wriggle out of watching the kids again.· Beth's trying to worm her way out of helping with the party.· You promised you'd take me, so don't try to weasel out of it.
also get round British: get around a law/rule/regulation etc to find a legal way of not obeying a law or rule that prevents you from doing what you want to do: · Isn't there any way of getting round these regulations?· He gets around the fire codes by claiming the building is a private club and not a business.
informal to avoid paying tax or obeying a law, in a way that is illegal or dishonest, or to avoid doing something that it is your duty to do: · Clever businessmen often manage to evade taxes.· Politicians have come up with many tricks to evade campaign spending limits.
informal to avoid paying something or doing something, especially in a dishonest way: · Through the help of powerful Senators, the firm has successfully dodged most federal environmental regulations.· During the Vietnam war, he moved to Canada to dodge the draft.
WORD SETSarmband, nounbackstroke, nounbathe, verbbather, nounbathing, nounbathing cap, nounbathing costume, nounbathing suit, nounbathing trunks, nounbeachwear, nounbelly flop, nounbikini, nounbreaststroke, nouncostume, noundip, noundive, verbdive, noundiver, noundiving, noundiving board, noundoggy paddle, noundog paddle, nounduck, verbdunk, verbfloat, nounfreestyle, nounlength, nounlifeguard, nounlifesaver, nounlife-saving, nounmedley, nounpaddling pool, nounspringboard, nounstroke, nounswim, verbswim, nounswimmer, nounswimming bath, nounswimming costume, nounswimming pool, nounswimming trunks, nounswimsuit, nounswimwear, nounsynchronized swimming, nounwaterwings, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY She ducked her head to look more closely at the inscription. 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.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIESCOLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
She ducked her head to look more closely at the inscription. 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.· He let go and ducked back into the driving rain.· I eased into an upright position, ducking back out of sight until I heard him start the car and pull away.· Art, it seems, is the perpetual recidivist, always ducking back into the aesthetic as soon as vigilant life averts its gaze.· Marion ducked back out, surprised and annoyed, but there was no sign of her.· He ducked back into the shadows, his face pressed to the door.· Instinctively, I ducked back a tree or two.
· I ducked down and left the doorway and ran along a row of cars to where mine was.· Others just plunged, simply ducked down and pushed out, fighting up, reaching for air.· As Taff and I ducked down into the trench I upset the remains of my meal over the floor.· Kramer had to duck down to get to the toilet.· He grabbed Vanessa, ducked down behind her.· We ducked down by the vines, heaving tomatoes at each other.· He dived behind a storage tank, covering as Forster dropped lightly to his feet and ducked down beside a bench.· She was hundreds of yards from the cottage when she ducked down, panting.
· It took all the strength of Perdita's frantically squeezing legs to stop her ducking out.· At one point, Blue thinks that he is looking directly at him and ducks out of the way.· However much he might like to duck out, he can not.· Sinnett clamped his hand over his mouth and ducked out.· This boy was more the Weakest Link as he ducked out of taking two decisions to deny Leeds the win they deserved.· Several of us ducked out under cover of darkness, even as others arrived.· I know when to duck out for a breather.· Although Dole was ducking out, the debate will go on as scheduled.
NOUN· Jehan rode up beside it, stepped out of the saddle, and ducked inside the cover.· Several of us ducked out under cover of darkness, even as others arrived.· Democrats either ducked for cover or scrambled to put the focus back on Gingrich.· She said that as she ducked for cover, she saw Combs run for the exit with Lopez.
· Whenever the question of whether or not she needed him popped into her head, Constance conveniently ducked it.· Quickly, head low, he ducked behind the hedge and walked in a crouch to the bushes.
· Don't duck the issues that death raises.· The protest movement can not duck the issue of the minority of violent anarchists who now exploit it.· Remember, the one thing you can't do is duck the issue.· Since the war, governments had by and large ducked the issue.
· He did not duck one question.· Regardless whether you agree with him, he never ducks a question and always seems to have a grasp of the subject.
VERB· I tried ducking under broken sections, but they just ducked right down after me.· Smitty caught it flat-footed; he had not even tried to duck.· She tried to duck out of his grip, half-succeeding, and he went off-balance.· Floyd tried to duck out of the booth, but it was too late; he had already been spotted.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► lame duck president/governor/legislature etc► like water off a duck’s back
1- If he's not here on time, he's a dead duck.
- The news program was once considered a dead duck.
(also duck down) [intransitive, transitive] 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[intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to move somewhere very quickly, especially to avoid being seen or to get away from someoneduck 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[transitive] informal to avoid something, especially a difficult or unpleasant duty SYN 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[transitive] to push someone under water for a short time as a jokeduck somebody under something Tom grabbed him from behind to duck him under the surface.duck out of something phrasal verb to avoid doing something that you have to do or have promised to do: I always ducked out of history lessons at school.