lame duck

noun

|Updated on: 19 Jul 2018

Definition of lame duck

1 : one that is weak or that falls behind in ability or achievement; especially, chiefly British : an ailing company

2 : an elected official or group continuing to hold political office during the period between the election and the inauguration of a successor

3 : one whose position or term of office will soon end

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lame-duck

play \ˈlām-ˈdək\ adjective

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Examples of lame duck in a Sentence

The President was a lame duck during the end of his second term.

Recent Examples of lame duck from the Web

Of those, six presidents got nominees through as lame ducks.

— olivia b. waxman, Time, "5 Reasons Why Supreme Court Nominations Have Failed," 10 July 2018
The South American country is reeling from a colossal corruption scandal, struggling to recover from a deep recession and trying to look beyond the remaining months of President Michel Temer’s lame duck administration ahead of October elections.

— sarah dilorenzo, The Seattle Times, "US VP to focus on Venezuela in 3rd trip to Latin America," 25 June 2018
The South American country is reeling from a colossal corruption scandal, struggling to recover from a deep recession and trying to look beyond the remaining months of President Michel Temer's lame duck administration ahead of October elections.

— sarah dilorenzo, Fox News, "US VP to focus on Venezuela in 3rd trip to Latin America," 25 June 2018
The South American country is reeling from a colossal corruption scandal, struggling to recover from a deep recession and trying to look beyond the remaining months of President Michel Temer’s lame duck administration ahead of October elections.

— Washington Post, "US VP to focus on Venezuela in 3rd trip to Latin America," 25 June 2018
Other than the discussion of migrants, Pence’s visit appeared light on substance, as was expected given that Temer is deeply unpopular and a lame duck ahead of October elections.

— sarah dilorenzo, The Seattle Times, "VP Pence warns migrants not to attempt to enter US illegally," 26 June 2018
To maintain power as a lame duck for over six months is going to be really hard.

— joshua jamerson, WSJ, "Farm Bill’s Defeat Marks Setback for Paul Ryan," 18 May 2018
But they are held by lame ducks Jeff Flake and Bob Corker, respectively.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "McConnell May Cancel August Recess To Keep Democrats From Going Home to Campaign," 16 May 2018
Photo: Ahmad Yusni/EPA/Shutterstock One complication is that the 92-year-old Mr. Mahathir has already pledged to hand power to Mr. Anwar in a year or two, making him something of a lame duck.

— james hookway, WSJ, "Best Frenemies: Anwar Ibrahim’s Release Rekindles an Old Malaysian Rivalry," 16 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lame duck.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of lame duck

1761

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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Financial Definition of LAME DUCK

lame duck

noun

What It Is

A lame duck is a person who has gone bankrupt or is in default. In politics, a lame duck is a politician whose tenure is about to end.

How It Works

For example, let's say John Doe has lost money on every trade he has made during the last 20 months. He is a lame duck.

Why It Matters

The world of money has many colorful terms. This term is one of many that describe bad investments, bad investors and other aspects of the downside of investing.

Source: Investing Answers