lobby

noun

lob·by | \ ˈlä-bē

plural lobbies

Definition of lobby

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a corridor or hall connected with a larger room or series of rooms and used as a passageway or waiting room: such as

a : an anteroom of a legislative chamber especially : one of two anterooms of a British parliamentary chamber to which members go to vote during a division

b : a large hall serving as a foyer (as of a hotel or theater)

2 : a group of persons engaged in lobbying especially as representatives of a particular interest group the gun lobby the oil lobby

lobby

verb

lobbied; lobbying

Definition of lobby (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

: to conduct activities aimed at influencing public officials and especially members of a legislative body on legislation

transitive verb

1 : to promote (something, such as a project) or secure the passage of (legislation) by influencing public officials lobby a bill through Congress

2 : to attempt to influence or sway (someone, such as a public official) toward a desired action lobbying senators for tax reform

Other Words from lobby Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about lobby

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Other Words from lobby

Verb

lobbyer noun

lobbyism \ ˈlä-bē-ˌi-zəm

\ noun

lobbyist \ ˈlä-bē-ist

\ noun

Examples of lobby in a Sentence

Noun

I'll meet you in the lobby after the show. The proposed new law is supported by the oil lobby.

Verb

an organization that has been lobbying for reform of the tax laws The health-care industry has lobbied against the proposal. an organization that has been lobbying Congress for reform of the tax laws a player who has lobbied hard to be included in the team's starting lineup I lobbied our company for a new computer.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

In the lobby of the Evangelical Church center in Abu Dhabi, the capital, a board lists more than 50 congregations that worship there. — Asa Fitch, WSJ, "In Arab Nation, Christians, Buddhists and Jews Emerge to Worship," 27 Jan. 2019 Spectators go through security in the lobby of the building and need to remove their shoes to go through a second metal detector and X-ray bag scanner on the eighth floor. — Claudia Torrens, The Seattle Times, "El Chapo trial becomes New York’s latest tourist attraction," 18 Dec. 2018 Some of the creditors camped out in the lobby of one of LeEco’s offices. — Sean O'kane, The Verge, "Faraday Future CEO’s long trail of debt is finally catching up to him," 8 Dec. 2018 The goop founder posted a photo taken in the lobby of the Four Season George V in Paris. — Maggie Maloney, Town & Country, "Everything We Know About Gwyneth Paltrow's European Honeymoon," 9 Oct. 2018 After the meal, guests made their way down to an urban-jungle-theme disco that had been set up in the lobby of the Aman Venice. — Alexandra Macon, Vogue, "This Bride Found Her Dress on Instagram and an Epic Wedding in Venice Followed," 2 Oct. 2018 And if the lobby of the building is any indication, the interior of Damon's new penthouse is sure to be pretty incredible. — Brittney Morgan, House Beautiful, "Matt Damon Just Bought The Most Expensive Penthouse In Brooklyn," 28 Dec. 2018 The lobby was too formal, and devoid of people for much of the day. — Dawn Gilbertson, azcentral, "Check out the Phoenician resort's fresh look: New spa, golf course, lobby," 11 July 2018 There was no sign that TLR was a player in this year's fight for RPT chair and the business lobby, with some exceptions, was not present for discussions of the governing party's platform. — Scott Braddock, Houston Chronicle, "Braddock: Perhaps the GOP civil war in Texas really is over," 2 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The grand jury report also says lawmakers need to pass stricter penalties for ethics violations and more stringent rules on lobbying. — Jeffrey Collins, The Seattle Times, "State Grand Jury: Attorney General impeded corruption probe," 9 Oct. 2018 But spending on lobbying itself has been tracked in the US since a 1995 law mandated it. — Scott K. Johnson, Ars Technica, "Fossil fuel lobbyists grossly outspend “Big Green”," 20 July 2018 The purpose of the trip is to lobby members of the Illinois House to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment before Tuesday’s expected vote. — Suzanne Baker, Naperville Sun, "Free bus rides to Springfield for ERA rally will leave from Naperville," 3 May 2018 Big oil companies, like Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhilips, have started spending lobbying money in favor of a carbon-tax plan. — Megan Geuss, Ars Technica, "Bipartisan carbon-tax bill introduced in the Senate offers glimpse at future," 20 Dec. 2018 The health committee held hearings, and Alexander — keenly aware of how Washington works these days — lobbied Trump directly. — Dylan Scott, Vox, "Lamar Alexander, pillar of Washington’s old guard, is retiring from the Senate," 17 Dec. 2018 The first: Accusations that the search giant’s algorithms are biased against conservative content, a popular complaint that conservative politicians have also lobbied against other major tech companies, like Facebook and Twitter. — Shirin Ghaffary, Recode, "Live updates from Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s testimony to Congress today," 11 Dec. 2018 The council version also redefined lobbying, with councilors saying their proposal better defined what municipal lobbying looks like. — Milton J. Valencia, BostonGlobe.com, "Walsh vetoes city lobbying rules, calling proposal ‘inadequate’," 12 July 2018 To advance their agenda, the tech allies have been strategizing by email and phone, courting trade and mainstream media and lobbying lawmakers, defense officials and the White House, Bloomberg has reported. — Naomi Nix, Bloomberg.com, "Amazon Has Plenty of Foes in Pentagon Cloud Deal," 26 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lobby.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.