lobbyist
Americannoun
-
lobbyists
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of lobbyist
Explanation
A lobbyist is someone hired by a business or a cause to persuade legislators to support that business or cause. Lobbyists get paid to win favor from politicians. For example, oil companies send lobbyists to Washington to try to make life easier for oil companies. Sometimes they do it by making a great case for their cause, but often it involves fancy dinners and golf outings. If that sounds kind of shady, it is. But remember that women's rights groups and cancer research foundations have lobbyists, too — it's just one way to get your voice heard on the Hill.
Vocabulary lists containing lobbyist
100 Top "SAT" Words
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U.S. Government Lingo
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Vocabulary from President Trump's First Address to Congress
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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:
In the following weeks, Kao and his lobbyist gave Wilson’s campaign $3,500.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
A Washington industry lobbyist interviewed by AFP predicted a pragmatic approach from companies.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
It was the first time Marafatsos had ever registered as a lobbyist in the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
In fact, he is a top lobbyist for Aktor, whose CEO had flown Guilfoyle to the country on a private jet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
One was a lawyer and lobbyist from the state capital of Columbus.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
Agents wanted Kao to help them find more records that would back up his account and asked him to point them toward lobbyists in D.C. who he said facilitated the pay-for-play scheme.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
She has puzzled officials in the region by promoting a specific Greek company and seeking to involve one of its lobbyists.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Means complained in other meetings that he believed some White House officials were behaving like it was their job to help food industry lobbyists work against Kennedy’s agenda, one person said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Working with a team of pricey, well-connected lobbyists, Navatek would get meetings on Capitol Hill to pitch the research to congressional staff.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
There were journalists and lobbyists, and also homeless people just looking to get out of the heat.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
