Phrase guide

baby duck syndrome

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌbeɪbi dʌk ˈsɪndɹəʊm/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /-dɹəm/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˌbeɪbi dʌk ˈsɪndɹoʊm/
  • General-American: /-dɹəm/

1

noun

Meaning 1

The tendency of computer users to think the system (software or usage paradigm) they originally started using is better than others.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: humorous, uncountable

Topics: computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From the tendency of newly hatched ducks or other birds to imprint on the first thing they see.

Across languages

Translations

1 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: ankanpoikasen syndrooma — tendency of computer users to think the system (software or usage paradigm) they originally started using is better than others