Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

lip service

noun

Definition of lip service

  1. :  an avowal of advocacy, adherence, or allegiance expressed in words but not backed by deeds —usually used with pay

See lip service defined for English-language learners

Explore M-W

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
alt-597a00ef4b9d7
'Motif' vs 'Leitmotif'
alt-5978a79b75e17
Trending: 'Transgender' Americans Face New Restrictions
alt-597a99e699d07
July 2017 Words of the Day Quiz

Examples of lip service in a Sentence

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

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

First Known Use of lip service

1590

LIP SERVICE Defined for English Language Learners

lip service

noun

Definition of lip service for English Language Learners

  • : support for someone or something that is expressed by someone in words but that is not shown in that person's actions

Learn More about lip service

  1. See words that rhyme with lip service

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up lip service? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

inhere

play

to be a fixed element or attribute

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. transgender Trump reverses military policy allowing transgender people to serve

  2. beleaguer 'Being subjected to constant or repeated trouble or harassment'

  3. scaramouch A new White House communications director

  4. non sequitur “It does not follow”

  5. admiral's mast A massive search ends with an 'admiral's mast'.

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

lip service

Test Your Vocabulary

July 2017 Words of the Day Quiz

  • alt-597a99e699d07
  • Which is a synonym of gauche?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Word Winder's CrossWinder

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-597a00ef4b9d7
'Motif' vs 'Leitmotif'

A pattern emerges.

alt-5978b44edfb13
Our (Almost) Final Word on 'Penultimate'

The ultimate guide to using penultimate.

alt-5978cb55e8ba5
The Grammatical History of 'Awaken'/'Awoken'/'Awakened'

Or you can just go back to bed.

alt-59775cb5d7779
Words We're Watching: 'Aquafaba'

Don't dump out the bean water just yet...

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

alt-597a99e699d07
July 2017 Words of the Day Quiz

Test your knowledge.

Take the quiz
emoji-the-quiz
The Emoji Quiz

Think you’re an emoji 👓 expert? Let’s see 🤔

Take the quiz
Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz
Word Winder's CrossWinder
Word Winder's CrossWinder

A game of winding words.

Play the game
Examples: lip service in a Sentence