lip service

noun

: an avowal of advocacy, adherence, or allegiance expressed in words but not backed by deeds

—usually used with pay

Examples of lip service in a Sentence

She paid lip service to blue-collar workers, but she did nothing to help them.

So far all we've gotten from him is lip service.

Recent Examples on the Web

Aware of this, government officials are scrambling to pay lip service to their love of the south. — Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 17 July 2026

But any practice having non-medical stakeholders can’t also care about patients and docs more than giving that concern lip service. — Torie Bosch, STAT, 20 June 2026

This is not mere lip service; Spotify has moved from filling 20% of open jobs with internal talent to over 40% in 2025, with plans to increase this even more in the future. — Francesca Cassidy, Fortune, 8 June 2026

Some commanders paid lip service to the agreement, the soldiers said, while privately voicing desire for the war in Gaza to continue. — Sam Mednick, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1590, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lip service

• disservice
• preservice
• interservice
• nervous
• nervus