[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/canard.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / canard

[← C](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/C/)

# canard

«canard» in Mova's school dictionary: **a false story or rumour that many people repeat and…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (a canard, canards)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (formal) A canard is a false story or rumour that many people repeat and believe, especially one spread on purpose. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canard/#m1)

2) (aircraft) A canard is a small extra wing near the front of a plane, in front of the main wings. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canard/#m2)

3) (French) In French, «canard» is the ordinary word for a duck; in English it is not used for the bird. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canard/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In news and history lessons it means a lie or myth that keeps going round, for example an old rumour about a person or group. It warns the reader that the story is false. Phrases: an old canard, a tired canard, repeat a canard.

### examples

- The idea that we use only ten percent of our brains is an old canard. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canard/#x1)
- The newspaper had to apologise for spreading the canard. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canard/#x2)
- The teacher said that story about the king was a canard. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canard/#x3)
- That plane has small canards in front of its main wings. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canard/#x4)
- In Paris, Dad ordered «canard», which turned out to be duck. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canard/#x5)
- Don't repeat that canard about goldfish having a three-second memory. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canard/#x6)

### note

Countable: a canard, canards. Said «ka-NARD» or «KAN-ard». A formal, bookish word; in everyday talk say «a myth», «a rumour» or «a lie». It comes from French «canard» (duck); old French had a saying about «half-selling a duck», meaning cheating.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «canard» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canard/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.