lip-sync
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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to synchronize (recorded sound) with lip movements, as of an actor in a film.
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to match lip movements with (recorded speech or singing).
She did a clumsy job of lip-syncing her big song.
noun
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the technical process by which this is done.
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the simultaneous recording of voice and picture, especially the synchronization of lip movements with recorded sound.
Etymology
Origin of lip-sync
First recorded in 1960–65
Explanation
To lip-sync is to silently mouth the words along with a song or some other recording. So grab a candlestick, crank the music, and lip-sync while you bust moves around the living room like Tom Cruise in "Risky Business." Sync here is short for synchronization, from the Greek synkhronizein, "occur at the same time." Synchronization was first used in the movie biz, referring to getting the pictures and sound matched up. Still, actors often lip-sync — if it's done well, it looks like it's the actor who's singing. Bollywood films are almost always made this way. The best part of lip-syncing is the dance moves.
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.
Kid Rock didn’t really bother to lip sync while bouncing around half-heartedly to “Bawitdaba,” his breakthrough single from 1999.
From Salon • Feb. 9, 2026
Her standout performance remains her lip sync to Ava Max’s “My Head & My Heart.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2024
The song has lingered in pop culture, from a lip sync battle between Jimmy Fallon and Melissa McCarthy to a post-apocalyptic DJ playing it endlessly on “Kids in the Hall.”
From New York Times • Jan. 24, 2024
The duo was also allowed to lip sync their performance at the Grammys in 1990, where they won new artist over acts such as the Indigo Girls.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 27, 2023
Mr Anderson-James would often lip sync to sketches from The Office, which eventually caught the eye of creator Ricky Gervais.
From BBC • Jul. 28, 2022
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
