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
Shipping lanes suffered, neutrality became meaningless, and actual fishing vessels became sitting ducks.
—
New Atlas, 28 Dec. 2025
In other words, a sitting duck.
—Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 9 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
See All Example Sentences for sitting duck
New Atlas, 28 Dec. 2025
In other words, a sitting duck.
—Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 9 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
See All Example Sentences for sitting duck
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sitting duck
Noun
-
The Chargers’ Ladd McConkey put up a Pro-Bowl caliber campaign in ’24 as a first-year target (82 catches, 1,149 receiving yards, seven scores), while Rashod Bateman’s numbers as a rookie in ’22 were merely serviceable (46 grabs, 515 yards, one TD).—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Higher-income targets may see investment scams.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Nataliia had gone to the bus station, where soldiers were spraying foam to contain the nuclear fallout, and to the hospital, where men in white coats were unloading victims on stretchers from the backs of ambulances.—
Lizzie Johnson,
New Yorker,
25 Apr. 2026
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At the time, Esperanza-Pacheco was working as a pastor at God’s Lighthouse of Truth in Richmond, where the victim and her family were members and had developed a friendship with him.—
Jason Green,
Mercury News,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sitting duck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sitting%20duck. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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