sitting duck

sit·ting duck

S s

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [sit-ing duhk]
- /ˈsɪt ɪŋ dʌk/
- /ˈsɪt.ɪŋ dʌk/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [sit-ing duhk]
- /ˈsɪt ɪŋ dʌk/

Definitions of sitting duck words

noun sitting duck a helpless or easy target or victim: a sitting duck for shady financial schemes. 1
noun sitting duck easy target 1
countable noun sitting duck If you say that someone is a sitting duck, you mean that they are easy to attack, cheat, or take advantage of. 0
noun sitting duck an obvious or defenceless target 0
noun sitting duck a person or thing especially vulnerable to attack; easy target 0

See all 5 definitions of sitting duck

Information block about the term

Origin of sitting duck

First appearance:

before 1940

One of the 7% newest English words

First recorded in 1940-45

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Sitting duck

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Sitting duck

sitting duck popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 36% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 58% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

sitting duck usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for sitting duck

noun sitting duck

blow off — If you blow something off, you ignore it or choose not to deal with it.
by-word — a word or phrase associated with some person or thing; a characteristic expression, typical greeting, or the like.
carrot — Carrots are long, thin, orange-coloured vegetables. They grow under the ground, and have green shoots above the ground.
chicane — a bridge or whist hand without trumps
decoy — If you refer to something or someone as a decoy, you mean that they are intended to attract people's attention and deceive them, for example by leading them into a trap or away from a particular place.

adjective sitting duck

nonresistant — not able, conditioned, or constructed to withstand the effect of something, as a disease, a specific change in temperature, or harsh treatment; susceptible to damage or ill effects.

All 24 Synonyms of sitting duck