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
In this case, that makes Dumars and his team sitting ducks for anyone else with designs on their score.
—
Peter Debruge, Variety, 22 Jan. 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
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
Peter Debruge, Variety, 22 Jan. 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
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
-
McMillan, taken eighth overall by the Panthers in last year’s NFL Draft, put together a rookie campaign with 70 receptions (122 targets) for 1,014 yards and seven touchdowns.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
6 Feb. 2026
-
The cargo variant targets heavier logistics.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Family members of the shooting victims cried as the sentence was handed down.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Nelson, one of the shooting victims, who was in the passenger seat of the van, fired twice in self-defense before the truck drove away, according to the lawsuit filed by the family against the Police Department.—
Ben Wheeler,
Kansas City Star,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sitting ducks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sitting%20ducks. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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