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lame-duck session

American  
[leym-duhk] / ˈleɪmˈdʌk /

noun

  1. (formerly) the December to March session of those members of the U.S. Congress who were defeated for reelection the previous November.


Etymology

Origin of lame-duck session

An Americanism dating back to 1930–35

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

And they did all this in a lame-duck session after losing their veto-proof majority in the state house.

From Salon Dec. 13, 2024

The lame-duck session ends Tuesday, a day before the 103rd General Assembly is sworn in.

From Seattle Times Jan. 6, 2023

But the measure has little chance of passing the Senate in the lame-duck session of Congress that ends this month.

From Washington Times Dec. 15, 2022

This makes the upcoming lame-duck session of Congress the most consequential since at least 1974.

From Washington Post Nov. 21, 2022

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the chamber’s Democratic leader, has said he would like to revive the legislation in a lame-duck session this year or in the new session of Congress next year.

From New York Times Nov. 17, 2022

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