lame duck

American  

[leym duhk] / ˈleɪm ˈdʌk /

noun

1. 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.

2. a president who is completing a term of office and chooses not to run or is ineligible to run for reelection.

3. a person finishing a term of employment after a replacement has been chosen.

4. anything soon to be supplanted by another that is more efficient, economical, etc.

5. a person or thing that is helpless, ineffective, or inefficient.

6. a person who has lost a great deal of money in speculations on the stock market.

---

lame duck British  

noun

1. a person or thing that is disabled or ineffectual

2. stock exchange a speculator who cannot discharge his liabilities

3. a company with a large workforce and high prestige that is unable to meet foreign competition without government support

4. 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

5. (modifier) designating a term of office after which the officeholder will not run for re-election

---

lame duck Cultural  

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

---

lame duck Idioms  

1. 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.

---

Other Word Forms

• lame-duck adjective

Etymology

Origin of lame duck

First recorded in 1755–65

Example Sentences

He’s also a lame duck and getting lamer.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

Powell became a lame duck almost immediately after President Donald Trump was inaugurated in January 2025.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 19, 2026

"I'm not sure he's a lame duck yet," Garret Martin, professor of international relations at American University, told AFP.

From Barron's • Nov. 25, 2025

Congressional leaders from both parties agree on the need to pass PBM reform, and the current "lame duck" legislative session is an ideal opportunity to do so.

From Salon • Nov. 22, 2024

We had nearly reached the Round Pond when I heard a startled "squ-a-a-k!" at my feet, and a lame duck struggled up from the grass and limped painfully off.

From The Mysterious Shin Shira by Easton, W.G.