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lame duck

[leym duhk]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

an elected official or group of officials, as a legislator, continuing in office during the period between an election defeat and a successor's assumption of office.
a president who is completing a term of office and chooses not to run or is ineligible to run for reelection.
a person finishing a term of employment after a replacement has been chosen.
anything soon to be supplanted by another that is more efficient, economical, etc.
a person or thing that is helpless, ineffective, or inefficient.
a person who has lost a great deal of money in speculations on the stock market.

lame duck

noun

a person or thing that is disabled or ineffectual
stock exchange a speculator who cannot discharge his liabilities
a company with a large workforce and high prestige that is unable to meet foreign competition without government support
1. an elected official or body of officials remaining in office in the interval between the election and inauguration of a successor
2. ( as modifier )
  a lame-duck president
(modifier) designating a term of office after which the officeholder will not run for re-election

lame duck

A public official or administration serving out a term in office after having been defeated for reelection or when not seeking reelection.

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Other Word Forms

lame-duck adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of lame duck¹

First recorded in 1755–65

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Idioms and Phrases

An elected officeholder whose term of office has not yet expired but who has failed to be re-elected and therefore cannot garner much political support for initiatives. For example, You can't expect a lame duck President to get much accomplished; he's only got a month left in office. This expression originated in the 1700s and then meant a stockbroker who did not meet his debts. It was transferred to officeholders in the 1860s. The Lame Duck Amendment, 20th to the U.S. Constitution, calls for Congress and each new President to take office in January instead of March (as before), thereby eliminating the lame-duck session of Congress.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Some claim that, as Democratic Party leader, Lee played a major role in fuelling the problem, frequently blocking motions by Yoon's government and effectively rendering him a lame duck president.

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"It is unfortunate that Olmert, regardless of how nice he was… was a lame duck," Husseini says, "and therefore, we will go nowhere with this."

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Even before his martial law declaration, Yoon had been reduced to a lame duck leader as the opposition party held the majority in parliament.

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As Trump crosses the line from ignorant bombast to dangerous, Fox News will eventually have to abandon him, given his lame duck status.

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I think in a way he's already a lame duck.

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lamed lame-duck session

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