lickspittle

noun

lick·​spit·​tle ˈlik-ˌspi-tᵊl How to pronounce lickspittle (audio)
: a fawning subordinate : toady

Examples of lickspittle in a Sentence

a partisan news program whose host is more of a lickspittle for the White House than a serious journalist
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Such as holding court, choosing your sobriquet, and naming imbecilic lickspittles to our Kingsguard. Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 7 July 2024 What happened to the idea that art and culture should be a contemptuous refuge from the mainstream, as opposed to this lickspittle, running dog accommodation to the mainstream? Billboard Staff, Billboard, 3 June 2022 And Washington is revealed once again as our modern Versailles, a place of courtiers and lickspittles who’d use the Ministry of Justice to serve their ambitions. John Kass, chicagotribune.com, 15 June 2018 Ricardians denounce Shakespeare as a lickspittle hack who favored Henry Tudor —the winner at Bosworth and Elizabeth I’s grandfather—over Richard’s branch of the House of York. Andrew Roberts, WSJ, 30 Apr. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1825, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lickspittle was in 1825

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Lickspittle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lickspittle. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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