lobbyist

noun

lob·​by·​ist ˈlä-bē-ist 

plural lobbyists

: one who conducts activities aimed at influencing or swaying public officials and especially members of a legislative body on legislation : a person engaged in lobbying public officials

The new rule says that if you were a registered lobbyist in the past two years, you can't work for the administration on any issue you touched. After you leave government, you can't lobby the administration at all.

—Jacob Weisberg

Because so many lobbyists have past experience on Capitol Hill, they usually have personal ties both to members of congress and to their key staffers, who vet and prioritize the earmark requests.

—Ken Silverstein

Examples of lobbyist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Common sense means changing a dysfunctional and overly expensive health care system that benefits insurance companies and lobbyists. —Chicago Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025

Moreno said Robert Rivas shelved the bill after speaking to his brother, who acted as an unregistered lobbyist on behalf of Friends of the University, a political action committee that opposed the amendment. —Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 3 Sep. 2025

Google went from negligible activity in the early 2000s to being among the top corporate lobbyists by the early 2010s. —Paulo Carvão, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025

Right now, Indian diplomats and lobbyists in Washington are working feverishly to engineer a rapprochement. —Bobby Ghosh, Time, 2 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lobbyist

• hobbyist