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Glite Dictionary
diving duck

diving duck

1 3.9
A duck that swims underwater to find food, often in lakes or bays
  • noun
  • /ˈdaɪvɪŋ dʌk/
translation icon : pato buceador
  • Many wildlife photographers flock to the bay to capture images of various species of diving ducks as they hunt for food underwater.

Examples

  • It's a salt water diving duck.

    Rare Birds (2001)

  • During the winter months, flocks of diving ducks can often be seen near the estuary, diving beneath the surface to catch fish.

  • The wetlands are home to several types of diving ducks, known for their ability to feed efficiently by submerging themselves in search of prey.

Synonyms

sea duck
vsdiving duck
5.8

A large diving bird that lives by the sea and dives for food

occupy bays and estuaries as well as coastal zones

Antonyms

dabbling duck
6.3

A duck that feeds by tipping its head into shallow water while its tail stays up

How Aquatic

diving duck
1 3.9
aquatic bird
1 3.5
water bird
1 1.7
shorebird
3 3.7

Surface Forms

diving duck singular
diving ducks plural

Morphology

dive + duck

The phrase is a clear composition of 'diving' (present participle of dive) + 'duck', so a learner who knows 'dive' and 'duck' can infer it denotes a duck that dives underwater to feed. This participial modifier pattern is common cross-linguistically and follows regular English noun modification, making the meaning immediately derivable for a B1 learner.

Etymology

Diving duck comes from a simple picture: a duck that dives fully under the water to catch food, so the diving part tells how it feeds. That's why the name means a 'duck' that gets its food by 'diving' underwater.