This confusion just makes me so crazy! Sure the words sound alike and a very clever manufacturer has taken advantage of this with his branded “Duck Tape” — I am rather disappointed that the tape doesn’t have little duckies waddling along the roll! It does not mean, however, that the words ARE the same.
Heck, stand above the crowd — and it IS a crowd! — and look more intelligent. Duck when someone tries to duct this one through.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Duck | Duct |
|---|---|
 |
 |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Noun 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Verb 2, intransitive & transitive Plural for the noun: duck, ducks Third person present verb: ducks |
Noun 1, 2; Verb, transitive 1
Plural for the noun: ducts Third person present verb: ducts |
| Noun: Waterbird with a broad, blunt bill, short legs, webbed feet, and a waddling gait 1 A quick lowering of the head 2 Informal term of affection in Britain, particularly amongst cockneys (can be plural, ducks) 3 Strong untwilled linen or cotton fabric used for casual or work clothes and sails 4 A batsman’s score of zero 5 Verb, intransitive:
Plunge one’s head or body underwater briefly [Bridge] Refrain from playing a winning card on a particular trick for tactical reasons Verb, transitive:
Plunge one’s head or body underwater briefly |
Noun: Channel or tube for conveying something in particular 1 A strong, cloth-backed, waterproof adhesive tape 2 Verb, transitive: Convey through a duct 1 |
| Examples: | |
| Noun: Look at the ducks, mommy! Oh, duck, don’t look like that. No, we’ll use the duck as we need a good strong pair of trousers. He’s out for a duck. Verb, intransitive: She ducked into the doorway to get out of the line of fire. I thought I saw you duck out. I was engaged twice and ducked out both times. I had to keep ducking down to get my head cool. With the hand I had, I had to duck the trick. Verb, transitive: He ducked a punch from an angry first baseman. It was a responsibility that a less courageous man might well have ducked. |
Noun: We’ll need a bigger duct for the air conditioning in a building this size. It’s a system of tubes, pipes, and metal chutes that form the ducting. Your tear ducts are blocked. Duct tape was invented to repair leaks in ducted ventilation and heating systems. Verb, transitive Can we duct these wires through here? I can’t believe they ducted the electrical right next to the cable! |
| Derivatives: | |
| Noun: ducker, duckling | Adjective: ductless Noun: ducting |
| History of the Word: | |
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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Duck versus Duct
Apple Dictionary.com
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Rubber Duck was created by Florentijn Hofman and exhibited by WORM in Rotterdam on 29 June 2008. It was photographed by Mirko Tobias Schäfer under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.
Revised as of 12 July 2023
By: Kathy Davie
