Phrase guide

sitting duck

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

An obvious, vulnerable target.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Examples

  • For God's sake, Sergeant, we need to get to cover – we're sitting ducks out here.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a defenseless victim

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: easy mark

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: victim, dupe

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

27 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: ле́сна пля́чка (lésna pljáčka) — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • Chinese Mandarin: 活靶子 (huóbǎzi) — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • Czech: snadný cíl — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • Czech: snadná kořist — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • Finnish: maalitaulu — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • French: cible facile — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • German: leichte Beute — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • German: leichtes Ziel — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • Hungarian: könnyű célpont — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • Hungarian: könnyű préda — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • Hungarian: gyerekjáték eltalálni — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • Italian: bersaglio facile — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • Italian: facile preda — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • Japanese: いい鴨 (iikamo) — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • Malagasy: tanjona — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • Polish: łatwy cel — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • Polish: łatwa zdobycz — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • Portuguese: presa fácil — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • Romanian: pradă ușoară — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • Romanian: țintă facilă — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • Russian: удо́бная ми́шень (udóbnaja míšenʹ) — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • Russian: лёгкая цель (ljóxkaja celʹ) — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • Spanish: blanco fácil — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • Spanish: presa fácil — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • Spanish: pato de feria — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • Swedish: lätt offer — an obvious, vulnerable target
  • Thai: เป้านิ่ง (bpâo-nîng) — an obvious, vulnerable target