quack Meaning & Definition
What Does Quack Mean?
Quack is a noun that means The vocalisation made by a duck. As a verb, it means Of a duck, to make its characteristic vocalisation. As an interjection, it means A duck's quack.
Quick Facts About Quack
| Part of speech | noun, verb, interjection, adjective |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /kwæk/ |
| Synonyms | snake-oil, salesman and medicaster |
| Plural | quacks |
| Comparative / superlative | more quack, most quack |
| Verb forms | quacks, quacking, quacked |
Quack Definition (Noun)
- The vocalisation made by a duck.
Did you hear that duck make a quack?
Quack as a Verb
- Of a duck, to make its characteristic vocalisation.
The more breadcrumbs I threw on the ground, the more they quacked.
- To make a sound similar to the quack of a duck.
- Of a queen bee: to make a high-pitched sound during certain stages of development.
Quack as an Interjection
- A duck's quack.
Noun
- A fraudulent healer, especially a bombastic peddler in worthless treatments, a doctor who makes false diagnoses for monetary benefit, or an untrained or poorly trained doctor who uses fraudulent credentials to attract patients
That doctor is nothing but a lousy quack!
- Any similar charlatan or incompetent professional.
- Any doctor.
That quack wants me to quit smoking, eat less, and start exercising. The nerve!
Verb
- To practice or commit quackery (fraudulent medicine).
- To make vain and loud pretensions.
Quack as an Adjective
- Falsely presented as having medicinal powers.
Don't get your hopes up; that's quack medicine!
Noun
- The sound made by a duck.
Did you hear that duck make a quack?
Verb
- To make a noise like a duck.
Do you hear the ducks quack?
Noun
- A fraudulent healer or incompetent professional; especially, a doctor of medicine who makes false diagnoses or inappropriate treatment; an impostor who claims to have qualifications to practice medicine.
That doctor is nothing but a lousy quack!
- A charlatan.
- A doctor.
Synonyms of Quack
Quack synonyms and antonyms →Quack in a Sentence
Did you hear that duck make a quack?
The more breadcrumbs I threw on the ground, the more they quacked.
Do you hear the ducks quack?
That doctor is nothing but a lousy quack!
That quack wants me to quit smoking, eat less, and start exercising. The nerve!
Don't get your hopes up; that's quack medicine!
Word Forms & Grammar
quack (plural quacks)
quack (third-person singular simple present quacks, present participle quacking, simple past and past participle quacked)
quack
quack (comparative more quack or quacker, superlative most quack or quackest)
Words That Rhyme With Quack
Origin of Quack
Origin 1: From Middle English *quacken, queken (“to croak like a frog; make a noise like a duck, goose, or quail”), from quack, qwacke, quek, queke (“quack”, interjection and noun), also kek, keke, whec-, partly of imitative origin and partly from Middle Dutch quacken (“to croak, quack”), from Old Dutch *kwaken (“to croak, quack”), from Proto-West Germanic *kwakōn, from Proto-Germanic *kwakaną, *kwakōną (“to croak”), of imitative origin.[1] Cognate with Saterland Frisian kwoakje, kwaakje (“to quack”), Middle Low German quaken (“to quack, croak”), German quaken (“to quack, croak”), Danish kvække (“to croak”), Swedish kväka (“to croak, quackle”), Norwegian kvekke (“to croak”), Icelandic kvaka (“to twitter, chirp, quack”).
Origin 2: Clipping of quacksalver (see there for more), of Dutch origin; ultimately related to Etymology 1 above.
Quack: Your Questions Answered
Is quack a noun or a verb?
Quack is mainly used as a noun, but it can also be used as a verb, an interjection and an adjective.
What is another word for quack?
Close synonyms of quack are snake-oil, salesman and medicaster. See the full list of quack synonyms and antonyms.
What is the plural of quack?
The plural of quack is quacks.
What is the past tense of quack?
The past tense of quack is quacked. The present participle is quacking.
What are the comparative and superlative forms of quack?
The comparative form is more quack and the superlative form is most quack.