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

When Thrasher’s name surfaced for the FSU job in 2014, students heckled him at a public forum, appalled by his role as a lobbyist and as chairman of then-Gov. Rick Scott’s re-election campaign. —Steve Bousquet, Sun Sentinel, 31 May 2025

The memos said the agreement includes a $900 million tax cut through eliminating a tax on commercial leases, a longtime priority of business lobbyists. —Jim Saunders, The Orlando Sentinel, 31 May 2025

Howard Paster, a former lobbyist for the United Auto Workers union, whom Clinton had appointed to liaise with Congress, said at one point in the discussions. —John Cassidy, New Yorker, 26 May 2025

The report also stopped short of calling two common pesticides used on many food crops, glyphosate and atrazine, unsafe after pushback from farmers, industry lobbyists and Republican lawmakers. —Dani Blum, New York Times, 22 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lobbyist

• hobbyist