break one's duck en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
From cricket, where duck means a score of zero.
Meanings
- To score one's first run in an innings.
-
(Commonwealth, UK, broadly, idiomatic) To do something for the first time.
Best had come on as a substitute in the 1-0 win at Wigan last weekend and wasted a goalscoring opportunity after stumbling as he was about to shoot, so many of the fans in black and white could have been forgiven for thinking that perhaps the burly forward was destined not to break his duck.
2011 January 5, Saj Chowdhury, “Newcastle 0 - 0 West Ham”, in BBC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| breaks one's duck | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| breaking one's duck | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| broke one's duck | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| broken one's duck | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |