as in target
a person or thing that is the object of abuse, criticism, or ridicule
those stupid comments just made him a sitting duck for comedians
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Recent Examples of sitting duck
Once the safety car ended, Verstappen was essentially a sitting duck, immediately losing the rear of the RB-21 and just managing to keep it on the track.
—
Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 June 2025
As stars sit around, waiting for a random ring that will change their life, often surrounded by TV cameras ready to broadcast the moment to the world, they’re reduced to sitting ducks.
—Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 29 Apr. 2025
To the Mach 4 missiles, capable of taking out jets maneuvering at high speed , a Shahed is a sitting duck.
—David Hambling, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
This sitting duck would be another victim in the submarine’s reign of terror.
—Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sitting duck
Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 June 2025
As stars sit around, waiting for a random ring that will change their life, often surrounded by TV cameras ready to broadcast the moment to the world, they’re reduced to sitting ducks.
—Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 29 Apr. 2025
To the Mach 4 missiles, capable of taking out jets maneuvering at high speed , a Shahed is a sitting duck.
—David Hambling, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
This sitting duck would be another victim in the submarine’s reign of terror.
—Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sitting duck
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sitting duck
Noun
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Not in our communities, but protecting assets & high priority targets downtown so that our @Chicago_Police don’t have to babysit the Bean or Buckingham Fountain for eight hours a day.—
Terry Collins,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
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The fear of becoming a target will often be enough to induce compliance in advance.—
Steve Chapman,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The victims said the thief stole close to $60,000 in cash and dozens of checks that were inside the box.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
9 Sep. 2025
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The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office has identified the victim as Daniella Weisman from Glencoe, a spokesperson confirms to PEOPLE.—
Jillian Frankel,
PEOPLE,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sitting duck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sitting%20duck. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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