lapdog

Or lap dog

[lap-dawg, dog]

noun

1. a small pet dog that can easily be held in the lap.

2. a person or group that submits to the influence of another; a servile follower.

   Regulatory agencies are supposed to be watchdogs, but some have become lapdogs of the industries they oversee.

lapdog

/ ˈlæpˌdɒɡ /

noun

1. a pet dog small and docile enough to be cuddled in the lap

2. informal,  a person who attaches himself to someone in admiration or infatuation

Word History and Origins

Origin of lapdog¹

First recorded in 1635–45; lap ¹ + dog ( def. )

Example Sentences

The insurance lobby is a force in California, and you want the state insurance commissioner to act like a watchdog, not a lapdog.

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The republic’s consuls and other officers became Augustus’ lapdogs, but he preserved their venerable offices and titles “with anxious care,” seeming to consult them and massaging their vanity.

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On the other hand, he trusted his most faithful lapdog, former Vice President Mike Pence, to follow his orders to usurp the Constitution and look where it got him.

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The same goes for House Republicans, who’ve long been Trump’s lapdogs, and impediments to good governance.

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Woike: The portrayal of Blake Griffin seems way off to me — someone who I never viewed as a selfish teammate or as a Sterling lapdog.

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