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

This month, Meta also named Joel Kaplan, a prominent Republican lobbyist, as the new head of global policy. —Queenie Wong, Los Angeles Times, 7 Jan. 2025

Meta named Kaplan, a prominent Republican lobbyist, to take over for Nick Clegg as the company’s chief global affairs officer. —Miranda Nazzaro, The Hill, 7 Jan. 2025

McClain was a longtime lobbyist who previously served as a state representative in Illinois’ 48th district from 1973 to 1982. —Jim Talamonti | The Center Square Contributor, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 5 Jan. 2025

The charge was led for years by the late Carroll Hughes, a legendary lobbyist who testified at public hearings and worked in the hallways to reject the wine proposal each time. —Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 5 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined above