Phrase guide

duck test

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.

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Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A form of abductive reasoning, application of intuition, or common sense regardless of technical parameters, to identify an ostensibly unknown subject by observing that subject's characteristics.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: epistemology, human-sciences, philosophy, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From the expression if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.

Across languages

Translations

3 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: eendentest — test for application of common sense
  • French: test du canard — test for application of common sense
  • Polish: test kaczki — test for application of common sense