sitting duck

n. Informal

An easy target or victim.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

sit′ting duck′

a helpless or easy target or victim.

[1940–45]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

sitting duck - a defenseless victim

easy mark

dupe, victim - a person who is tricked or swindled

Translations

هَدَف بارِز

leichtes Opfer

auîvelt skotmark

lett offer takknemlig offer

ľahký terč

易受攻击的目标

sitting duck

sitting target n (fig) → facile bersaglio

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

sit

(sit) – present participle sitting: past tense, past participle sat (sӕt) – verb

1. to (cause to) rest on the buttocks; to (cause to) be seated. He likes sitting on the floor; They sat me in the chair and started asking questions.

2. to lie or rest; to have a certain position. The parcel is sitting on the table.

3. (with on) to be an official member of (a board, committee etc). He sat on several committees.

4. (of birds) to perch. An owl was sitting in the tree by the window.

5. to undergo (an examination).

6. to take up a position, or act as a model, in order to have one's picture painted or one's photograph taken. She is sitting for a portrait/photograph.

7. (of a committee, parliament etc) to be in session. Parliament sits from now until Christmas.

ˈsitter noun

1. a person who poses for a portrait etc.

2. a baby-sitter.

ˈsitting noun

a period of continuous action, meeting etc. I read the whole book at one sitting; The committee were prepared for a lengthy sitting.

ˈsit-in noun

an occupation of a building etc by protesters. The students staged a sit-in.

ˈsitting-room noun

a room used mainly for sitting in.

sitting target, sitting duck

someone or something that is in an obvious position to be attacked. If they're reducing staff, he's a sitting target.

sit back

to rest and take no part in an activity. He just sat back and let it all happen.

sit down

to (cause to) take a seat, take a sitting position. Let's sit down over here; He sat the child down on the floor.

sit out

1. to remain seated during a dance. Let's sit (this one) out.

2. to remain inactive and wait until the end of. They'll try to sit out the crisis.

sit tight

to keep the same position or be unwilling to move or act. The best thing to do is to sit tight and see if things improve.

sit up

1. to rise to a sitting position. Can the patient sit up?

2. to remain awake, not going to bed. I sat up until 3 a.m. waiting for you!