1
as in to avoid
to get or keep away from (as a responsibility) through cleverness or trickery
don't try to duck your commitment to spending Thanksgiving with your family by claiming you have to work
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in person
a member of the human race
her coworkers regard her as something of an odd duck
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of duck
Liam Rappleye, USA Today, 31 Jan. 2026
Rule breakers Two spectators ducked the rope line late in the day along the 18th fairway and raced to the other side.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Jan. 2026
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Feb. 2026
If the Patriots win on Sunday, Beacon Hill could be abuzz with talk of a duck boat parade and celebrations next week.
—State House News Service, Boston Herald, 6 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for duck
Verb
During the demonstration, the Dexory bot ducked under a low pipe near the ceiling and stopped before rolling around a person standing in its path.
—Liam Rappleye, USA Today, 31 Jan. 2026
Rule breakers Two spectators ducked the rope line late in the day along the 18th fairway and raced to the other side.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Jan. 2026
Noun
There’s also a game room with two racing games, a duck claw machine, and an old-school Pac-Man that was born out of the vision of the owner’s own young daughter.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Feb. 2026
If the Patriots win on Sunday, Beacon Hill could be abuzz with talk of a duck boat parade and celebrations next week.
—State House News Service, Boston Herald, 6 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for duck
Recent Examples of Synonyms for duck
Verb
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Avian influenza continues to cause significant mortality in wild birds, prompting the Arkansas Department of Agriculture to recommend avoiding contact with wild birds.—
Bryan Hendricks,
Arkansas Online,
15 Feb. 2026
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During warmer months, when the path is crowded with tourists in leisure mode, anyone who walks with a purpose should avoid the Bridge at all costs.—
Katie James Watkinson,
Condé Nast Traveler,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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And the desk chairs weave a story of Nevis, adorned with nods to its lush flora and playful green vervet monkeys, the iconic ambassadors of the island.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
15 Feb. 2026
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The plot weaves together elements of romance, family drama and feminist struggle against the backdrop of a space walk gone terribly awry.—
Brianne Kane,
Scientific American,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The freeze developed as the jet stream dipped sharply south during a strongly negative phase of what's called the Arctic Oscillation.—
Newsroom Meteorologist,
Houston Chronicle,
13 Feb. 2026
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For observers within that path, daylight will briefly give way to darkness, temperatures will dip, and the sun's outer atmosphere — the corona — will become visible to the naked eye.—
Jamie Carter,
Space.com,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Don’t accept an argument from an authority because that person is an authority.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
10 Feb. 2026
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Measles is highly contagious and can spread through the air when an infected person breathes, talks, coughs or sneezes.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Somehow their petition—miraculously evading Confederate interception and traveling, via the Bahamas, to Washington—arrived on the Navy secretary’s desk, though they likely weren’t released until the end of the war.—
Drew Gilpin Faust,
The Atlantic,
8 Feb. 2026
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Edwards, who trains such police departments as the New York Police Department on drone threat mitigation, points to fiber-optic drones that can evade radio frequency detection systems as a particular concern.—
Anna Schecter,
CBS News,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Afterward, Denver7 heard from Douglas County residents, including a Parker woman who feels the move hinders productive conversations around local issues and is merely a way for the commissioners to dodge criticism and accountability.—
thedenverchannel.com,
Denver Post,
5 Feb. 2026
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Nate Paul, the one-time superstar Austin developer who played a central role in the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton, dodged jail time again Monday.—
Paul Flahive,
Austin American Statesman,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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So up and over went Adebayo, and straight down upon Ware came Adebayo’s dunking wrath.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
9 Feb. 2026
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Neither Johnson nor Richardson have had much of a chance to show off their dunking prowess this season.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Athletes from seven different countries, including Japan, rank among the top 10 in the current women’s World Cup standings compared to just the traditional four for men.—
Dana ONeil,
CNN Money,
10 Feb. 2026
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Machado wrote in a post on X that Juan Pablo Guanipa, a key ally, was kidnapped by heavily armed men in civilian clothing in the Los Chorros area of the capital.—
Ashley Carnahan,
FOXNews.com,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Duck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/duck. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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