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

Commissioner Miguel Angel Gabela, who is co-sponsoring the proposal, told the Miami Herald a lobbyist for the company had approached his office about the pilot program. — Tess Riski july 1, Miami Herald, 1 July 2026

Some of the federal expenditures from DraftKings and FanDuel are already being routed to lobbyists with ties to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the agency that oversees prediction markets, according to government records. — Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 30 June 2026

In recent weeks, questions have been raised about political self-dealing, transparency, lack of guardrails on lobbyists, spending and staff increases. — Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 June 2026

Industries ranging from telecommunications and medical devices to retailers are concerned about the price increases, according to a letter from lobbyists sent to the Department of Commerce earlier this month. — Kif Leswing, CNBC, 27 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lobbyist

• hobbyist