Definition of lip service
: an avowal of advocacy, adherence, or allegiance expressed in words but not backed by deeds
—usually used with pay
What's Trending Now
More Trending Words
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 of lip service from the Web
-
Instead, the bureau’s search process reveals how insular this town can be, how the white male insider dominates, and how our leaders still pay lip service to diversity.
-
Fifty years after King’s death, plenty of people are paying him lip service.
-
Her commitment to the family is more than just lip service, though.
-
The way critics see it, the players abandoned their principles, getting little more than lip service in return for their silence.
-
Plenty offer lip service to turning the corner and finding a way.
-
But to achieve genuine reform, with consumer rights receiving anything more than lip service, will require a sea change in policy making.
-
Amid increased international attention to human rights violations in Argentina, many leaders attempted to pay at least lip service to toning down extrajudicial killings.
-
But Tuesday’s nominations proved once more that their diversity initiatives aren’t just lip service.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lip service.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of lip service
1590
LIP SERVICE Defined for English Language Learners
lip service
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
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).
