1
: a small bowling pin shorter than a tenpin but proportionately wider at mid-diameter
2
duckpins plural in form but singular in construction : a bowling game using duckpins

Examples of duckpin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
With similar rules to 10-pin bowling, players of duckpin bowling roll with smaller balls, narrower pins, and smaller gutters. Miranda Jeyaretnam, The Indianapolis Star, 23 June 2023 Remembering a time when duckpin bowling ruled the roost in D.C. Pinsetters were also known as pin boys. John Kelly, Washington Post, 17 June 2023

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1911, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of duckpin was circa 1911

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Cite this Entry

“Duckpin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/duckpin. Accessed 5 Apr. 2025.

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