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
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Recent Examples of sitting ducks
As labor complications ensue, a blizzard rages outside trapping the family in their home – sitting ducks for whatever sinister presence might be in there with them.
—
William Earl, Variety, 25 Mar. 2026
As labor complications ensue, a blizzard rages outside trapping the family in their home – sitting ducks for whatever sinister presence might be in there with them.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 11 Mar. 2026
But the companies that transport oil have parked their tankers on either side of the waterway, fearing their huge cargos would be sitting ducks for drone or missile attacks from Tehran as the war escalates.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 9 Mar. 2026
Other than Adobe, which is expensive but very good, these companies are not sitting ducks.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 17 Feb. 2026
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
William Earl, Variety, 25 Mar. 2026
As labor complications ensue, a blizzard rages outside trapping the family in their home – sitting ducks for whatever sinister presence might be in there with them.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 11 Mar. 2026
But the companies that transport oil have parked their tankers on either side of the waterway, fearing their huge cargos would be sitting ducks for drone or missile attacks from Tehran as the war escalates.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 9 Mar. 2026
Other than Adobe, which is expensive but very good, these companies are not sitting ducks.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 17 Feb. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sitting ducks
Noun
-
The sites mix factual assertions about their targets with unsubstantiated conspiracies and defamatory claims of misconduct ranging from extortion and embezzlement to drug dealing and prostitution.—
Gary Baum,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Moscow has also accused NATO nations of allowing their airspace to be used by Ukrainian drones attacking Russian targets -- allegations NATO leaders have denied.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
30 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
-
Turkey denies the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sitting ducks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sitting%20ducks. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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