lackey

American  

[lak-ee] / ˈlæk i /

Or lacquey

noun

plural

lackeys

1. a servile follower; toady.

2. a footman or liveried manservant.

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verb (used with object)

lackeyed, lackeying

1. to attend as a lackey does.

lackey British  

/ ˈlækɪ /

noun

1. a servile follower; hanger-on

2. a liveried male servant or valet

3. a person who is treated like a servant

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verb

1. to act as a lackey (to)

Other Word Forms

• unlackeyed
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of lackey

1520–30; < Middle French laquais, perhaps < Catalan lacayo, alacayo < ?

Explanation

A lackey is someone who works for someone else and tries to get ahead by kissing up to his superiors. For example, a lackey might carry his employer's luggage or fetch her cappuccinos. A lackey can also be a servant who wears a uniform, like a butler, doorman, or valet. Only the richest, grandest, snobbiest families employ lackeys these days. Another name for a lackey is a manservant, who works in a private home serving the needs of his employer — like a maid, but male. From this earliest meaning came the sense of lackey as a "toady" or "sycophant," someone who fawns and flatters in order to get what they want. The word stems from the Middle French laquais, "foot soldier" or "servant."

Example Sentences

“We are not an island state,” Lackey said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 28, 2026

Fellow climber Julia Lackey, who has worked in Yosemite for the past two seasons, agreed the situation is "really scary."

From Barron's • Nov. 1, 2025

“The issue of illegal immigration is a very emotional issue,” Lackey said.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 14, 2024

High-profile users, like fantasy author Mercedes R. Lackey, are removing their work from their profiles and writing notes explaining why.

From Slate • Feb. 2, 2024

“They call it the land of opportunity, and I don’t think that’s changed much,” said Diana Lackey, a sixty-year-old homemaker and wife of a retired contractor in Fulton, New York, near Syracuse.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times