- (plural ducks, duck)[countable]
a common bird that lives on or near water and has short legs, webbed feet (= feet with thin pieces of skin between the toes) and a wide beak. There are many types of duck, some of which are kept for their meat or eggs. 鸭 
wild ducks 野鸭 duck eggs 鸭蛋 Every afternoon they went to the park to feed the ducks. 每天下午他们都去公园喂鸭子。 Ducks were quacking noisily on the lake. 鸭子在湖上嘎嘎作响。
Extra ExamplesTopics Birdsa2A flock of ducks bobbed near the shore. 一队鸭子在岸边快速游动。 A rubber duck floated in the bath. 有一只橡皮鸭浮在浴盆里。 Some species of duck dive for food, while others dabble for plants and insects near the surface. 有些种类的鸭子潜水寻找食物，而其余种类的鸭子只在水面戏水寻找植物和昆虫。 The ducks paddled furiously to grab the bread. 鸭子拚命地游去抢面包。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- wild
- long-tailed
- mallard
- …
- flock
- feed
- hunt
- quack
- paddle
- swim
- …
- breast
- confit
- egg
- …
- [countable]
a female duck 母鸭 - [uncountable]
meat from a duck 鸭肉 roast duck with orange sauce 烤鸭蘸橘子酱 Slice the duck breast and serve. 把鸭胸脯切成薄片后端上来。 In a large saucepan, melt the duck fat. 在一个大平底锅里，将鸭油熔化。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- wild
- long-tailed
- mallard
- …
- flock
- feed
- hunt
- quack
- paddle
- swim
- …
- breast
- confit
- egg
- …
- (also duckie, ducks, ducky)[countable, usually singular] (British English, informal)
a friendly way of speaking to somebody （表示友好的称呼）乖乖，宝贝儿 - a duck[singular]
(in cricket 板球 a batsman's score of zero 零分 see also lame duck, sitting duck
Word Originnoun senses 1 to 3 Old English duce, from the Germanic base of duck in the verb sense (expressing the notion of ‘diving bird’). noun sense 5 mid 19th cent.: short for duck's egg, used for the figure 0 because of its similar outline. noun sense 4 late 16th cent.: from duck, the bird.
Idioms
a dead duck
- (informal)
a plan, an event, etc. that has failed or is certain to fail and that is therefore not worth discussing 已失败（或注定要失败、毫无讨论价值）的计划（或事情等）
get/have (all) your ducks in a row
- (especially North American English)
to have made all the preparations needed to do something; to be well organized 为某事做充分准备；把事情安排得井井有条 The company has its ducks in a row for a move into the Asian market. 该公司为进军亚洲市场而大打出手。 Get your ducks in a row before you retire. 退休前把你的鸭子排成一排。
(take to something) like a duck to water
(like) water off a duck’s back