duck

1 noun

1 BIRD (C) a very common water bird with short legs and a wide beak that is used for its meat, eggs, and soft feathers

2 FEMALE BIRD (C) a female duck

3 MEAT (U) the meat of this bird used as food: roast duck with orange sauce

4 take to something like a duck to water to learn how to do something very easily: Don't worry, you'll take to it like a duck to water.

5 PERSON also ducks BrE spoken a friendly way of speaking to someone, especially a woman or child: What can I get you, ducks?

6 SPORT (countable,) a score 1 (1) of zero by a batsman 1 (1) in a game of cricket 1 (2)

7 duck shoot AmE slang a very easy job or piece of work

—see also: a dead duck dead 1 (12), lame duck lame 1 (3), like water off a duck's back water 1 (5), ducks and drakes 2 verb

1 (I, T) to lower your head or body very quickly, especially to avoid being seen or hit: He saw a policeman coming, and ducked behind a car. | duck sth: We had to duck our heads to get through the doorway.

2 (T) to push someone under water for a short time as a joke: The children were busy ducking each other in the swimming pool.

3 (T) informal to try to avoid something, especially a difficult or unpleasant duty; dodge 1 (1) dodge 1 (2): His speech ducked all the major issues.

duck out of sth phrasal verb (T) informal to avoid doing something that you have to do or have promised to do: duck out of doing sth: Don't try and duck out of cleaning the kitchen!