sitting duck

noun

Definition of sitting duck

: an easy or defenseless target

Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More about sitting duck

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Synonyms for sitting duck

Synonyms

butt, mark, prey, target, victim

Examples of sitting duck in a Sentence

The tourists were sitting ducks for local thieves. those stupid comments just made him a sitting duck for comedians

Recent Examples on the Web

Now, Shelton feared, all those satellites overhead had become so many huge, unarmored, billion-dollar sitting ducks. — Garrett M. Graff, WIRED, "The New Arms Race Threatening to Explode in Space," 26 June 2018 The new bases were sitting ducks, American planners sniffed, and could be taken out quickly in an actual conflict. — The Economist, "China has put missiles on islands in the South China Sea," 10 May 2018 For several years, high school grads such as Leos were sitting ducks for the Selective Service. — Roy Bragg, San Antonio Express-News, "Better running through paperwork," 15 Apr. 2018 No worries that a steady diet of memorizing content and drilling on low-level procedures produces young adults who are sitting ducks in the innovation economy. — Valerie Strauss, Washington Post, "Venture capitalist visits 200 schools in 50 states and says DeVos is wrong: ‘If choice and competition improve schools, I found no sign of it.’," 15 Mar. 2018 Just like that, The Saviors are sitting ducks and get chewed to pieces. — Tyler Mccarthy, Fox News, "'The Walking Dead' Season 8, Episode 13 recap: The battle for The Hilltop leaves things hanging by a thread," 26 Mar. 2018 Without such protections, people are sitting ducks for larvae in sand or soil. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "Couple freaks after tabloids spread medical pics of their worm-infested bums," 1 Mar. 2018 Staying over one spot makes geosynchronous satellites sitting ducks but also protects them. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "Could a Chinese Space Junk Laser Double as a Weapon?," 17 Jan. 2018 As the Luftwaffe strafes 400,000 sitting ducks on the beach, a desperate evacuation begins. — Chris Ball, cleveland.com, "Christopher Nolan's 'Dunkirk,' now on DVD and Blu-ray (review)," 29 Dec. 2017

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