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
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
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
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Russian drones and missiles have repeatedly targeted Ukrainian port and shipping targets there.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
14 Sep. 2025
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The loitering munition systems empowers the warfighter with quick and easy deployment via tube-launch, and the capability to fly, track and engage non-line-of-sight targets and armored vehicles with precision lethal effects without the need for external ISR or fires assets.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The motion is still pending, and families of the crash victims urged the court to reject it.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
15 Sep. 2025
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Pep Guardiola’s City have been creating and exploiting pockets of space for many seasons now, and their neighbours were just the latest victims.—
Ahmed Walid,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sitting ducks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sitting%20ducks. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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