Chicken vs. Duck

(countable) A domestic fowl, Gallus gallus, especially when young.

(uncountable) The meat from this bird eaten as food.

A coward.

A young or inexperienced person.

A young, attractive, slim man, usually having little body hair; compare chickenhawk.

The game of dare.

A confrontational game in which the participants move toward each other at high speed (usually in automobiles); the player who turns first to avoid colliding into the other is the chicken (that is, the loser.)

Example: ‘Don't play chicken with a freight train; you're guaranteed to lose.’;

A simple dance in which the movements of a chicken are imitated.

(informal) Cowardly.

Example: ‘Why do you refuse to fight? Huh, I guess you're just too chicken.’;

(intransitive) To avoid a situation one is afraid of.

A young bird or fowl, esp. a young barnyard fowl.

A young person; a child; esp. a young woman; a maiden; same as spring chicken.

the flesh of a chicken used for food

a domestic fowl bred for flesh or eggs; believed to have been developed from the red jungle fowl

a person who lacks confidence, is irresolute and wishy-washy

a foolhardy competition; a dangerous activity that is continued until one competitor becomes afraid and stops

easily frightened

a domestic fowl kept for its eggs or meat, especially a young one

Example: ‘rationing was still in force and most people kept chickens’;

meat from a chicken

Example: ‘roast chicken’;

a game in which the first person to lose their nerve and withdraw from a dangerous situation is the loser

Example: ‘he was killed by a car after he lay in the road playing chicken’;

a coward.

cowardly

Example: ‘I was too chicken to go to court’;

withdraw from or fail in something through lack of nerve

Example: ‘the referee chickened out of giving a penalty’;

The chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus), a subspecies of the red junglefowl, is a type of domesticated fowl, originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult male bird, and younger male may be called a cockerel.

(intransitive) To quickly lower the head or body in order to prevent it from being struck by something.

(transitive) To quickly lower (the head) in order to prevent it from being struck by something.

(transitive) To lower (something) into water; to thrust or plunge under liquid and suddenly withdraw.

(intransitive) To go under the surface of water and immediately reappear; to plunge one's head into water or other liquid.

(intransitive) To bow.

(transitive) To evade doing something.

(transitive) To lower the volume of (a sound) so that other sounds in the mix can be heard more clearly.

To enter a place for a short moment.

Example: ‘I'm just going to duck into the loo for a minute, can you hold my bag?’;

An aquatic bird of the family Anatidae, having a flat bill and webbed feet.

Specifically, an adult female duck; contrasted with drake and with duckling.

(uncountable) The flesh of a duck used as food.

(cricket) A batsman's score of zero after getting out. (short for duck's egg, since the digit "0" is round like an egg.)

(slang) A playing card with the rank of two.

A partly-flooded cave passage with limited air space.

A building intentionally constructed in the shape of an everyday object to which it is related.

Example: ‘A luncheonette in the shape of a coffee cup is particularly conspicuous, as is intended of an architectural duck or folly.’;

A marble to be shot at with another marble (the shooter) in children's games.

(US) A cairn used to mark a trail.

One of the weights used to hold a spline in place for the purpose of drawing a curve.

A tightly-woven cotton fabric used as sailcloth.

(in plural) Trousers made of such material.

A term of endearment; pet; darling.

Example: ‘And hold-fast is the only dog, my duck (William Shakespeare - The Life of King Henry the Fifth, Act 2, Scene 3).’;

(Midlands) Dear, mate (informal way of addressing a friend or stranger).

Example: ‘Ay up duck, ow'a'tha?’;

A pet; a darling.

A linen (or sometimes cotton) fabric, finer and lighter than canvas, - used for the lighter sails of vessels, the sacking of beds, and sometimes for men's clothing.

The light clothes worn by sailors in hot climates.

Any bird of the subfamily Anatinæ, family Anatidæ.

A sudden inclination of the bead or dropping of the person, resembling the motion of a duck in water.

Example: ‘Here be, without duck or nod,Other trippings to be trod.’;

To thrust or plunge under water or other liquid and suddenly withdraw.

Example: ‘Adams, after ducking the squire twice or thrice, leaped out of the tub.’;

To plunge the head of under water, immediately withdrawing it; as, duck the boy.

To bow; to bob down; to move quickly with a downward motion.

To go under the surface of water and immediately reappear; to dive; to plunge the head in water or other liquid; to dip.

Example: ‘In Tiber ducking thrice by break of day.’;

To drop the head or person suddenly; to bow.

Example: ‘The learned pateDucks to the golden fool.’;

small wild or domesticated web-footed broad-billed swimming bird usually having a depressed body and short legs

(cricket) a score of nothing by a batsman

flesh of a duck (domestic or wild)

a heavy cotton fabric of plain weave; used for clothing and tents

to move (the head or body) quickly downwards or away;

Example: ‘Before he could duck, another stone struck him’;

submerge or plunge suddenly

dip into a liquid;

Example: ‘He dipped into the pool’;

avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues);

Example: ‘He dodged the issue’; ‘she skirted the problem’; ‘They tend to evade their responsibilities’; ‘he evaded the questions skillfully’;

a waterbird with a broad blunt bill, short legs, webbed feet, and a waddling gait.

a female duck.

a duck as food

Example: ‘a tangy stew of duck, lamb, and sausage’;

a pure white thin-shelled bivalve mollusc found off the Atlantic coasts of America.

an amphibious transport vehicle

Example: ‘visitors can board an amphibious duck to explore the city’;

a quick lowering of the head.

dear; darling (used as an informal or affectionate form of address, especially among cockneys)

Example: ‘where've yer been, ducks!’; ‘it's time you changed, my duck’;

a strong linen or cotton fabric, used chiefly for work clothes and sails

Example: ‘cotton duck’;

trousers made of duck.

a batsman's score of nought

Example: ‘he was out for a duck’;

lower the head or the body quickly to avoid a blow or missile or so as not to be seen

Example: ‘spectators ducked for cover’; ‘he ducked his head and entered’;

depart quickly

Example: ‘I thought I saw you duck out’;

avoid (a blow or missile) by moving quickly

Example: ‘he ducked a punch from an angry first baseman’;

evade or avoid (an unwelcome duty or undertaking)

Example: ‘a responsibility which a less courageous man might well have ducked’; ‘I was engaged twice and ducked out both times’;

push or plunge (someone) under water, either playfully or as a punishment

Example: ‘Rufus grabbed him from behind to duck him under the surface’;

refrain from playing a winning card on a particular trick for tactical reasons

Example: ‘declarer ducked the opening spade lead’;

Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are also members of the same family.