From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishlame duckˌlame ˈduck noun [countable] 1 a person, business etc that is having problems and needs help2 → lame duck president/governor/legislature etcFrom Longman Business Dictionarylame duckˌlame ˈduck noun [countable] informal1a politician or a government that no longer has any real power or authorityA bad defeat for his party in October risks making him a lame duck for the remaining two years of his presidency.2COMMERCEa company that is losing a lot of moneyWe don’t have time to fix broken companies and we won’t be buying any lame ducks.