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

After reading about these lobbyists’ lavish spending, self-indulgence and outright frauds, their ensuing downfalls (in most cases) come as a not-so-guilty pleasure. —James B. Stewart, New York Times, 16 May 2024

That itself was remarkable: a lobbyist gaining veto power over communications from legislators. —Daniel Walters, Idaho Statesman, 14 May 2024

There’s no law against receiving compensation to speak before the County Commission, though Miami-Dade’s code does require the person to register in advance as a lobbyist and disclose who is paying them for their remarks, said Jose Arrojo, director of the county’s Ethics Commission. —Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 14 May 2024

Out of the roughly 2,300 bills put forth each year, about 35% to 40% become law, according to Chris Micheli, an adjunct professor at the McGeorge School of Law at University of the Pacific and longtime Sacramento lobbyist. —Mathew Miranda, Sacramento Bee, 13 May 2024

Ah, the power of lobbyist money, but hey, Door Dash and Ticketmaster … unreal. —Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 10 May 2024

Critics created a political action committee and hired lobbyists to encourage Missouri lawmakers to pass the bill. —Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 6 May 2024

The three states with the largest number of lobbyists are Pennsylvania, Florida, and Ohio with 76, 60, and 46, respectively, according to ASH. —Nicholas Florko, STAT, 3 May 2024

Sanders has built his career on his pledge to fight the powerful – including big corporations and lobbyists – to help the working class. —Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY, 2 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined above