lame duck

noun

Updated on: 30 Mar 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

The Raiders were slipping back toward oblivion and eyeing two years of annoying lame duck status and the reality of losing their hard core fan base.

— ann killion, San Francisco Chronicle, "Could Raiders, 49ers make Bay Area the center of NFL universe?," 11 Jan. 2018
In the State of the State speech Tuesday night, Kasich is offering not merely the wisdom of a lame duck governor.

— chrissie thompson, Cincinnati.com, "John Kasich winds down as Ohio governor in State of the State, while stoking 2020 chances," 6 Mar. 2018
So, is Vladimir Putin a khromaya utka (lame duck) on the way to retirement six years from now?

— leon aron, National Review, "Vladimir Putin’s Wartime Presidency," 16 Feb. 2018
And, possibly most importantly, Kasich is still popular as a lame duck governor.

— cleveland.com, "Rating the 11 Ohio gubernatorial candidates' chances at winning," 7 Feb. 2018
With coach Marvin Lewis apparently a lame duck and more questions around quarterback Andy Dalton than answers, Green had two catches for 30 yards.

— tony holm, USA TODAY, "Fantasy sizzlers and fizzlers: All Jimmy Garoppolo does is win," 18 Dec. 2017
For the first time since the 2010 season, Lewis did not sign a rolling extension, leaving him a lame duck entering the season.

— paul dehner jr., Cincinnati.com, "Marvin Lewis made call, left clues he'd walk away," 17 Dec. 2017
Like so much else about ASU football, the bowl situation is bizarre: Todd Graham is coaching as a lame duck, and Herm Edwards is the new boss but not involved in the game.

— jon wilner, The Seattle Times, "Pac-12 bowl picks: UW and WSU await stiff Big Ten tests in Fiesta and Holiday Bowls," 16 Dec. 2017
Losing to a likely lame duck coach, though, would sour things for the third-year coach.

— brian pedersen, ajc, "College Football Hot Seat rankings: Lackluster home efforts could spell doom," 5 Nov. 2017

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

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