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Meaning & use

lobbyist

noun·Academic

Last updated

UK/ˈlɒbiɪst/
US/ˈlɑːbiɪst/

Meaning

  1. nouncountable

    A person whose job is to persuade politicians to support laws or policies that help a particular group.

    Grammar: Countable: you can talk about one lobbyist or several lobbyists.

    Patterns

    • a lobbyist for something
    • a lobbyist for someone
    • hire a lobbyist
    • work as a lobbyist

    The oil industry sent a team of lobbyists to meet with senators about the new tax.

    She works as a lobbyist for a children's health charity.

    Lobbyists must register with the government and report their activities.

Word forms

plurallobbyists

Common combinations

a lobbyist for
He is a lobbyist for the pharmaceutical industry.
hired lobbyist
The company paid a hired lobbyist to argue against the bill.
corporate lobbyist
Corporate lobbyists have a lot of influence in Washington.
lobbyist activity
The newspaper investigated lobbyist activity in the state capital.

Synonyms and how they differ

advocate
Advocate is broader and can be unpaid; a lobbyist is usually paid to influence lawmakers directly.
activist
An activist tries to bring about social or political change, often outside official channels, while a lobbyist works inside the political system.

Word family

lobby verb
To try to influence politicians or officials on an issue.
lobbying noun
The activity of trying to influence lawmakers.

Commonly confused: lobbyist or lobby?

lobbyist vs lobby

Lobby is the verb or the place; a lobbyist is the person who does the lobbying.

Practice

The company hired a ________ to talk to members of Congress about the trade bill.

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