duck tape

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duck tape

Where it comes from

Originally (from late 19th century) from duck (“a tightly woven fabric”) + tape, due to the make-up of the tape. The adhesive tape now commonly known as "Duck tape" (a trademark in the United States) has its origins in a product first created for the US military during World War II,https://www.duckbrand.com/about and the word "duck" was later associated with the waterproof qualities of this tape, as in the idea of "water off a duck's back".https://web.archive.org/web/20110824095810/http://www.octanecreative.com/ducttape/duckvsduct.html

The terms "duck tape" and "duct tape" overlap in modern usage. According to one theory, the modern product was originally called "duck tape". The term "duct tape" was then later applied because of mishearing and/or because the product was used to join together pieces of duct-work. However, this chronology has been questioned due to lack of documented evidence that "duck tape" predates "duct tape" as a name for the modern product.http://archive.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/03/14/tale_of_the_tape/ The Duck Brand website itself refers to "Duck Tape® Brand Duct Tape",https://www.duckbrand.com/products/duck-tape using "Duck tape" as the brand name, and "duct tape" as a generic description of the type of product.

noun duck tapes

countable, historical, uncountable A kind of tape made from, or incorporating, cotton duck (type of fabric). In belting from the motor, connect to as large a pulley as possible and practical, and use a heavy duck tape, one inch wide, such as printers use on their large presses.
also, countable, uncountable, used generically A type of multi-purpose heavy-duty adhesive tape. If you can't fix it with duck tape, it's not worth fixing.
Similar: duct tape, gaff tape, gaffer tape, gaffer's tape, gray tape

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MLA

"duck tape." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/duck%20tape. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

duck tape. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/duck%20tape

Chicago

"duck tape." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/duck%20tape.

BibTeX

@misc{duck_tape_2026,
  title = {duck tape},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/duck%20tape},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}