DUCKING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does ducking mean? 

• DUCKING (noun)
  The noun DUCKING has 2 senses:

1. hunting ducks

2. the act of wetting something by submerging it

  Familiarity information: DUCKING used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DUCKING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Hunting ducks

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

duck hunting; ducking

Hypernyms ("ducking" is a kind of...):

hunt; hunting (the pursuit and killing or capture of wild animals regarded as a sport)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of wetting something by submerging it

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

dousing; ducking; immersion; submersion

Hypernyms ("ducking" is a kind of...):

wetting (the act of making something wet)

Derivation:

duck (submerge or plunge suddenly)

duck (dip into a liquid)

 Context examples 

For an instant they looked each other over, and then Berks, ducking his head and rushing in with a handover-hand style of hitting, bored Jim down into his corner.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Ducking, turning, doubling, he slid about the deck, eluding the other's efforts to capture him.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

But you may suppose I paid no heed; jumping, ducking, and breaking through, I ran straight before my nose till I could run no longer.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

At first I saw nobody; but feeling a pressure against the door, I looked round it, and there, to my amazement, were Mr. Peggotty and Ham, ducking at me with their hats, and squeezing one another against the wall.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Following Mr. Dashwood's directions, and making Mrs. Northbury her model, Jo rashly took a plunge into the frothy sea of sensational literature, but thanks to the life preserver thrown her by a friend, she came up again not much the worse for her ducking.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)