as in targets
a person or thing that is the object of abuse, criticism, or ridicule
those stupid comments just made him a sitting duck for comedians
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sitting ducks
Shipping lanes suffered, neutrality became meaningless, and actual fishing vessels became sitting ducks.
—
New Atlas, 28 Dec. 2025
Club owners are kind of sitting ducks.
—Keith Sharon, Nashville Tennessean, 21 Oct. 2025
Prisoners feared they were purposefully trapped in the A Tunnel, sitting ducks for a response from corrections officers.
—Michael Collins, USA Today, 14 Oct. 2025
Those lucky/sitting ducks were at the center of a manifold creative pressure, like the core of a planet pulled spherical by gravity.
—Kate Colby
october 2, Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2025
Russian forces trapped in Ukraine would have been sitting ducks for NATO missiles and aircraft.
—Robert Kagan, The Atlantic, 10 Sep. 2025
Without the government’s ability to share robust intelligence about new attack methods, SMBs become sitting ducks for cybercriminals who specifically target organizations that can’t afford to lose days or weeks.
—Cynthia Kaiser, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2025
New Atlas, 28 Dec. 2025
Club owners are kind of sitting ducks.
—Keith Sharon, Nashville Tennessean, 21 Oct. 2025
Prisoners feared they were purposefully trapped in the A Tunnel, sitting ducks for a response from corrections officers.
—Michael Collins, USA Today, 14 Oct. 2025
Those lucky/sitting ducks were at the center of a manifold creative pressure, like the core of a planet pulled spherical by gravity.
—Kate Colby
october 2, Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2025
Russian forces trapped in Ukraine would have been sitting ducks for NATO missiles and aircraft.
—Robert Kagan, The Atlantic, 10 Sep. 2025
Without the government’s ability to share robust intelligence about new attack methods, SMBs become sitting ducks for cybercriminals who specifically target organizations that can’t afford to lose days or weeks.
—Cynthia Kaiser, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sitting ducks
Noun
-
On Friday morning local time, Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia had fired missiles and dozens of drones at targets across the country overnight.—
Hira Humayun,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
-
The human controller selects three separate targets on a screen.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Lawmakers complained when the Justice Department made only a limited release last month, but officials said more time was needed to review an additional trove of documents that was discovered and to scour the records to ensure no sensitive information about victims was inadvertently released.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Both victims were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in fair condition.—
Todd Feurer,
CBS News,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sitting ducks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sitting%20ducks. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
