duck

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

v. nod, bob; dodge, avoid, elude; dip, immerse, plunge. —n. drake. See avoidance, water, birds.

II

(Roget's IV) n. Types and breeds of ducks include: freshwater, sea, gadwall, garganey, shoveler, spoonbill, widgeon, baldpate, bufflehead, butterball, whistler, broadbill, ruddy, old, squaw, harlequin, ringneck, black, wood, mandarin, musk, pintail, tufted, spotbill, mottled, masked, yellow-billed, redhead, pochard, canvasback, mallard, Peking, eider, fulvous, tree, Mexican, Aylesbury; cinnamon teal, green-winged teal, scoter, surf, coot, scaup, merganser, sheldrake; see also bird 1 , 2 .

• like water off a duck's back *,

Syn. ineffective, ineffectual, weak; see useless 1 .

v.

1. [To lower the head or body quickly]

Syn. bob, bend, stoop; see bow 1 .

2. [To immerse quickly]

Syn. plunge, submerge, dunk; see dip 1 , immerse 1 .

3. [To avoid]

Syn. dodge, evade, elude; see avoid , evade 1 .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) v.

1. lower bow, crouch, stoop, dip, double over, drop, bob, bend, hunker down.

2. evade dodge, sidestep, elude, avoid, parry, swerve, shun, steer clear.

3. immerse submerge, dunk, dip, plunge, sink.

ANT.: 1. rise, straighten. 2. meet, confront

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I verb 1. To avoid fulfilling or answering completely: dodge, evade, hedge, sidestep, skirt. See SEEK. 2. To keep away from: avoid, burke, bypass, circumvent, dodge, elude, escape, eschew, evade, get around, shun. Idioms: fight shy of, give a wide berth to, have no truck with, keep (or stay or steer) clear of. See SEEK. 3. To plunge briefly in or into a liquid: dip, douse, dunk, immerge, immerse, souse, submerge, submerse. See ENTER. II noun The act of swimming: dip, dunk, plunge, swim. See WORK.