{
    "term": "duck",
    "partOfSpeech": "noun",
    "image": "data/images/bi/birds_poultry.png",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "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.",
            "cefr": "a2",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "wild ducks"
                },
                {
                    "text": "duck eggs"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Every afternoon they went to the park to feed the ducks."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Ducks were quacking noisily on the lake."
                },
                {
                    "text": "A flock of ducks bobbed near the shore."
                },
                {
                    "text": "A rubber duck floated in the bath."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Some species of duck dive for food, while others dabble for plants and insects near the surface."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The ducks paddled furiously to grab the bread."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Birds"],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["wild", "long-tailed", "mallard"],
                "… of ducks": ["flock"],
                "verb + duck": ["feed", "hunt"],
                "duck + verb": ["quack", "paddle", "swim"],
                "duck + noun": ["breast", "confit", "egg"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "a female duck",
            "cefr": "a2",
            "examples": [],
            "topics": ["Birds"]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "meat from a duck",
            "cefr": "a2",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "roast duck with orange sauce"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Slice the duck breast and serve."
                },
                {
                    "text": "In a large saucepan, melt the duck fat."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Food"],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["wild", "long-tailed", "mallard"],
                "… of ducks": ["flock"],
                "verb + duck": ["feed", "hunt"],
                "duck + verb": ["quack", "paddle", "swim"],
                "duck + noun": ["breast", "confit", "egg"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "a friendly way of speaking to somebody",
            "labels": "(British English, informal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Anything else, duck?"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 5,
            "definition": "a batter's score of zero",
            "cefr": "c2",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He was out for a duck."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Sports: ball and racket sports"]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "a plan, an event, etc. that has failed or is certain to fail and that is therefore not worth discussing",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": [],
            "topics": ["Difficulty and failure"]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to have made all the preparations needed to do something; to be well organized",
            "labels": "(especially North American English)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The company has its ducks in a row for a move into the Asian market."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Get your ducks in a row before you retire."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "(to become used to something) very easily, without any problems or fears",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "She has taken to teaching like a duck to water."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "used to say that something, especially criticism, has no effect on somebody/something",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "I can't tell my son what to do; it's water off a duck's back with him."
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/dʌk/",
                "audio": "du/duck/duck__gb_2.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/dʌk/",
                "audio": "du/duck/duck__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "noun 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."
}