Meaning & use
corporate lackey
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Meaning
nouncountabledisapproving
A person who obediently serves and defends a large company and its bosses, often without questioning them.
Grammar: Countable; plural is 'corporate lackeys'. Often used after 'a' or with a possessive: 'their corporate lackey'.
Patterns
- a corporate lackey
- someone's corporate lackey
The minister was dismissed as a corporate lackey who always sided with big business.
She refused to be a corporate lackey and challenged the CEO in the meeting.
Critics say the regulator has become a corporate lackey rather than a protector of the public.
Word forms
| plural | corporate lackeys |
|---|
Common combinations
- act as a corporate lackey
- He was happy to act as a corporate lackey as long as he got promoted.
- seen as a corporate lackey
- The new director was seen as a corporate lackey from the start.
- a mere corporate lackey
- They treated him like a mere corporate lackey, not a real manager.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stooge
- Similar disapproval, but 'stooge' is broader and can refer to anyone used by others, not only by a company.
- yes-man
- Focuses on always agreeing with a boss; 'corporate lackey' stresses serving the company itself.
- flunky
- Also disapproving, but often suggests doing small, unimportant tasks for someone powerful.
Word family
- lackey noun
- A servant or follower who does whatever they are told; the base of this phrase.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'corporate lackey' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 0 correctly describes a person who serves a company obediently. Option 1 is wrong because 'corporate lackey' is not a job title in a bakery. Option 2 is wrong because it is not a dessert. Option 3 is wrong because it is not an object you can buy.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “corporate lackey”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.