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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sitting duck
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
Bermuda faces a rare one-two punch Bermuda is a sitting duck in the path of twin storms that could deliver a punishing blow this week, even for the seasoned and storm-tested islands.
—Briana Waxman, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sitting duck
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
Bermuda faces a rare one-two punch Bermuda is a sitting duck in the path of twin storms that could deliver a punishing blow this week, even for the seasoned and storm-tested islands.
—Briana Waxman, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sitting duck
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sitting duck
Noun
-
Dubai International Airport, the busiest airport in the world, was one of the targets.—
Robert Stewart,
The Washington Examiner,
8 Mar. 2026
-
In military parlance, this usually translates to one attack on a specific target that might involve multiple weapons.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
But many of the workers also presented themselves as victims of racially motivated government policies.—
Boyce Upholt,
New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2026
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Crump is known for representing relatives of victims of high-profile police brutality cases.—
Rebecca Ellis,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sitting duck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sitting%20duck. Accessed 15 Mar. 2026.
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