A duck meaning in English
Learn how to use A duck correctly with Gymglish.
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Definition
a duck: a bird that lives by water (for example Donald or Daffy)
to duck (a punch): to move down quickly (to avoid being hit)
Examples
- "Lucky Duck is a fine airline company."
- "So far I've transformed into a duck and an elephant, but now I'm focusing on becoming a lotus flower."
- "It makes me feel like a big man to shoot bears, rabbits, deer, ducks of course, the occasional wild turkey, geese, hell I'll shoot a squirrel if I'm drunk enough-"
- "With me, you will learn the five D's of dodgeball: dodge, duck, dip, dive and... dodge."
- "I will be flying via Lucky Duck Air, and arriving Wednesday evening."
- "Icarus : Those poor ducks!"
- "Just one question, Bruno: why have you turned into a giant duck?"
- "Now nobody wants to join us, and when we march in the street, we have to duck to avoid rotten fruit thrown by angry onlookers."
- "Duck à la satsuma"
- "I will be flying on Lucky Duck Air (flight number: LUK 7453), and arriving in Hong Kong Wednesday evening at 9.45pm. My reservations, at the Shangri-La Hotel, are from Wednesday until the following Tuesday."
Exercise 1
Bruno talks about sorting out Harold's financial situation.
What else can be "sorted out"?
What else can be "sorted out"?
Bruno talks about sorting out Harold's financial situation.
What else can be "sorted out"?
What else can be "sorted out"?
A duck is a type of bird which says "quack quack quack". Unless you are angry at a duck, you wouldn't sort it out. Good guess though.
The phrasal verb "to sort out" means to arrange something so that it is clear, or to resolve it. "A misunderstanding" is something that can be "sorted out". For example: I thought he wanted me finish the report by Tuesday, but he actually wanted it on Monday. Luckily, we sorted out the misunderstanding and I finished the report before the deadline. In this conversation, Bruno assures Harold that his financial situation will be "sorted out" or "resolved" quickly. A problem is something that can be "sorted out".
A check (US) or cheque (UK) cannot be "sorted out". In general, we use the expression "to sort out" in reference to problems, difficulties or situations and not objects.
This is the correct choice. The phrasal verb "to sort out" means to arrange something so that it is clear, or to resolve it. Example: We need to sort out this problem with our supplier before we lose even more money. In this conversation, Bruno assures Harold that his financial situation will be "sorted out" or "resolved" quickly. A problem is something that can be "sorted out".
A bank cannot be "sorted out". In general, we use the expression "to sort out" in reference to problems, difficulties or situations and not objects.
Exercise 2
Fill in the blanks below using terms that were used in this article.
This term describes the act of lowering (the head) in a sudden movement, or evading something. "I'm very tall, so I often have to otherwise I hit my head on the top of the door frame."
(Hint: Located in the 1st paragraph)
This informal term describes advantages or benefits which some employees get for working for a company. "The best part about my job are the . I get a company car, a laptop, and free chocolate cake in the staff canteen."
(Hint: Located in the 5th paragraph)
This term means "failing to notice", in the sense of ignoring or disregarding something. "We must not the fact that the price of fossil fuels will continue to rise."
(Hint: Located in the 5th paragraph)
This term describes the act of lowering (the head) in a sudden movement, or evading something. "I'm very tall, so I often have to otherwise I hit my head on the top of the door frame."
(Hint: Located in the 1st paragraph)
This informal term describes advantages or benefits which some employees get for working for a company. "The best part about my job are the . I get a company car, a laptop, and free chocolate cake in the staff canteen."
(Hint: Located in the 5th paragraph)
This term means "failing to notice", in the sense of ignoring or disregarding something. "We must not the fact that the price of fossil fuels will continue to rise."
(Hint: Located in the 5th paragraph)
Fill in the blanks below using terms that were used in this article.
This term describes the act of lowering (the head) in a sudden movement, or evading something. "I'm very tall, so I often have to duck 1 otherwise I hit my head on the top of the door frame."
(Hint: Located in the 1st paragraph)
This informal term describes advantages or benefits which some employees get for working for a company. "The best part about my job are the perks 2. I get a company car, a laptop, and free chocolate cake in the staff canteen."
(Hint: Located in the 5th paragraph)
This term means "failing to notice", in the sense of ignoring or disregarding something. "We must not overlook 3 the fact that the price of fossil fuels will continue to rise."
(Hint: Located in the 5th paragraph)
This term describes the act of lowering (the head) in a sudden movement, or evading something. "I'm very tall, so I often have to duck 1 otherwise I hit my head on the top of the door frame."
(Hint: Located in the 1st paragraph)
This informal term describes advantages or benefits which some employees get for working for a company. "The best part about my job are the perks 2. I get a company car, a laptop, and free chocolate cake in the staff canteen."
(Hint: Located in the 5th paragraph)
This term means "failing to notice", in the sense of ignoring or disregarding something. "We must not overlook 3 the fact that the price of fossil fuels will continue to rise."
(Hint: Located in the 5th paragraph)
1 duck: This is the correct answer. To "duck" means to lower the head or body, generally to avoid being hit in the head. For example: I had to duck to avoid the three ducks that were flying towards me. In the article, Jackie Hasselhoff says "we have to duck to avoid rotten fruit thrown by angry onlookers", this means that the union members had to move their heads quickly, otherwise they would have been hit on the head with old fruit.
2 perks: This is correct. A "perk" is an informal term which describes a benefit or advantage given to an employee by a company, in addition to their salary or pay. This could be anything from a company car to stock options, for example. In the text, economist Adam F Symthe mentions "the perks that a dotcom like Doodle provides for its staff". This means that a young Internet company like Doodle is able to give its staff a lot of advantages (free meals, childcare, dry cleaning services, gold-leafed toilet paper, etc).
3 overlook: This is correct. In this context, to "overlook (a detail)" means to fail to notice or remark a detail. For example: When I write emails I always overlook spelling mistakes. The article states "it's not as if workers' rights are being totally overlooked in the US", this means that despite the decline of the labor unions in the US, the rights of workers are not being ignored or disregarded. Note that several other meanings of "overlook" exist in English.
Exercise 3
"The five D's of dodgeball".
Match the definition with the correct verb used by Horatio. Each verb begins with "D" and is only used once.
This verb means "to lower the head or body suddenly", often to avoid something. Hint: It also describes the name of a bird which goes "Quack, quack"! "Luckily, the soldier was able to his head to avoid the bullet."
This verb means "to immerse briefly", or "to put down". "There's nothing I like to do more than to my biscuit into my tea."
This verb means "to drop suddenly", or "plunge" (into water, for example). "I knew a man who could into a small swimming pool from a height of 15 meters."
This verb means to "evade" or "avoid", by changing positions quickly. "The boxer had to the punch by moving to one side suddenly."
Match the definition with the correct verb used by Horatio. Each verb begins with "D" and is only used once.
This verb means "to lower the head or body suddenly", often to avoid something. Hint: It also describes the name of a bird which goes "Quack, quack"! "Luckily, the soldier was able to his head to avoid the bullet."
This verb means "to immerse briefly", or "to put down". "There's nothing I like to do more than to my biscuit into my tea."
This verb means "to drop suddenly", or "plunge" (into water, for example). "I knew a man who could into a small swimming pool from a height of 15 meters."
This verb means to "evade" or "avoid", by changing positions quickly. "The boxer had to the punch by moving to one side suddenly."
"The five D's of dodgeball".
Match the definition with the correct verb used by Horatio. Each verb begins with "D" and is only used once.
This verb means "to lower the head or body suddenly", often to avoid something. Hint: It also describes the name of a bird which goes "Quack, quack"! "Luckily, the soldier was able to duck 1 his head to avoid the bullet."
This verb means "to immerse briefly", or "to put down". "There's nothing I like to do more than to dip 2 my biscuit into my tea."
This verb means "to drop suddenly", or "plunge" (into water, for example). "I knew a man who could dive 3 into a small swimming pool from a height of 15 meters."
This verb means to "evade" or "avoid", by changing positions quickly. "The boxer had to dodge 4 the punch by moving to one side suddenly."
Match the definition with the correct verb used by Horatio. Each verb begins with "D" and is only used once.
This verb means "to lower the head or body suddenly", often to avoid something. Hint: It also describes the name of a bird which goes "Quack, quack"! "Luckily, the soldier was able to duck 1 his head to avoid the bullet."
This verb means "to immerse briefly", or "to put down". "There's nothing I like to do more than to dip 2 my biscuit into my tea."
This verb means "to drop suddenly", or "plunge" (into water, for example). "I knew a man who could dive 3 into a small swimming pool from a height of 15 meters."
This verb means to "evade" or "avoid", by changing positions quickly. "The boxer had to dodge 4 the punch by moving to one side suddenly."
1 duck: This is correct. "To duck" is to lower the body suddenly, often to evade something, for example: I had to duck to avoid being hit by the snowball. It can carry a similar meaning as the verb "to dodge", although it generally implies a sudden lowering of the head. As a noun, it describes a web-footed swimming bird, and is used in Chinese and French cuisine (Peking duck is a common Chinese dish).
2 dip: This is correct. "To dip (a biscuit into tea)" is to "submerge" a biscuit briefly or rapidly into tea, or to "immerse" it in liquid. The verb can also describe a slight or temporary move downwards, for example: Stock market prices often dip on Fridays.
3 dive: This is correct. "To dive" is to "plunge" (often head first, often into water), for example: I once dived into the swimming pool and hit my head on the bottom. The verb can also describe the act of dropping suddenly and rapidly, often in the air, for example: House prices have dived in recent weeks. Note that "dive" has two past forms: "dived" and "dove"; the past participle is always "dived".
4 dodge: This is correct. "To dodge (a blow)" is to evade it by moving out of the way. It can also mean to use evasive methods, for example: The politician dodged the direct questions relating to his corrupt actions.
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