lobby

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word lobby. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word lobby, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say lobby in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word lobby you have here. The definition of the word lobby will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition oflobby, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: Lobby

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /lɒbi/
  • (file)
  • (US) IPA(key): /lɑbi/

Etymology 1

From Old French *lobie, from Medieval Latin lobium, lobia, laubia (a portico, covered way, gallery), borrowed from Frankish *laubijā (arbour, shelter).

Related to Old English lēaf (foliage). More at leaf. Doublet of lodge and loggia.

Political sense derives from the entrance hall of legislatures, where people traditionally tried to influence legislators because it was the most convenient place to meet them.

Noun

lobby (plural lobbies)

  1. An entryway or reception area; vestibule; passageway; corridor.
    I had to wait in the lobby for hours before seeing the doctor.
  2. That part of a hall of legislation not appropriated to the official use of the assembly.
  3. (politics) A class or group of interested people who try to influence public officials; collectively, lobbyists.
    The influence of the tobacco lobby has decreased considerably in the US.
  4. (video games) A virtual area where players can chat and find opponents for a game.
  5. (nautical) An apartment or passageway in the fore part of an old-fashioned cabin under the quarter-deck.
  6. A confined place for cattle, formed by hedges, trees, or other fencing, near the farmyard.
  7. A margin along either side of the playing field in the sport of kabaddi.
  8. A waiting area in front of a bank of elevators.
    • 2005, Charles R. "Butch" Farabee Jr., Death, Daring, and Disaster (page 135)
      Ranger Leslie Thompson, assigned to elevator duty, brought the elevator to the surface about 12:30 to bring down the tourists who were in the lobby of the elevator tower at that time.
Derived terms
Descendants
Translations

Verb

lobby (third-person singular simple present lobbies, present participle lobbying, simple past and past participle lobbied)

  1. (intransitive, transitive) To attempt to influence (a public official or decision-maker) in favor of a specific opinion or cause.
    For years, pro-life groups have continued to lobby hard for restrictions on abortion.
    • 2002, Jim Hightower, in Wikiquote
      The corporations don't have to lobby the government anymore. They are the government.
    • 2011 Allen Gregory, "Pilot" (season 1, episode 1):
      Allen Gregory DeLongpre: Yeah, it's not a big deal. I lobbied for fuel-cell technology on Capitol Hill. I'm friends with Sandy Bullock, really good friends. Who cares? It's not a pissing contest, right, J?
    • 2013 August 10, Schumpeter, “Cronies and capitols”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:
      Policing the relationship between government and business in a free society is difficult. Businesspeople have every right to lobby governments, and civil servants to take jobs in the private sector.
    • 2024 January 24, Dyan Perry talks to Nick Brodrick, “The industry has given me so much”, in RAIL, number 1001, page 45:
      "We're still at only 80% [of pre-pandemic passenger numbers], but it's great news that Southeastern put some more trains in the timetable from December," Perry explains. "We worked very closely with Southeastern to lobby government and stakeholders to increase the timetable.
Related terms
Translations

Etymology 2

Shortened from lobscouse.

Noun

lobby (uncountable)

  1. (West Midlands) lobscouse
    My mam cooked us lobby for tea last night.

Further reading

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English lobby.

Pronunciation

Noun

lobby m (plural lobbies)

  1. lobby (hall)
  2. lobby (advocacy group)
    Synonym: groupe de pression

Further reading

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English lobby.

Pronunciation

Noun

lobby f (invariable)

  1. lobby (group of people; hall of a bank)

Derived terms

Further reading

  • lobby in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Polish

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English lobby. Doublet of lodżia, loggia, and loża.

Pronunciation

Noun

lobby n (indeclinable)

  1. (politics) lobby (group of people who try to lobby)

Derived terms

adjectives
nouns
verb

Further reading

  • lobby in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • lobby in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English lobby.

Pronunciation

Noun

lobby m (plural lobbies)

  1. Alternative spelling of lóbi

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English lobby.

Noun

lobby n (uncountable)

  1. lobby

Declension

Spanish

Spanish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia es
Spanish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia es

Alternative forms

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English lobby. Doublet of lonja.

Pronunciation

Noun

lobby m (plural lobbies)

  1. lobby (group of people who try to influence public officials)
    Synonyms: grupo de presión, (Latin America) grupo de cabildeo
  2. lobby (entryway or reception area)
    Synonym: vestíbulo

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Related terms

References

  1. ^ RAEinforma (10 June 2013), “@RuvnJS #RAEconsultas Puesto que se trata de un extranjerismo crudo (no adaptado), debe usarse el plural inglés: lobbies (en cursiva).”, in Twitter (in Spanish), retrieved 6 January 2024

Further reading

Swedish

Noun

lobby c

  1. a lobby (entryway or reception area)
  2. (politics) a lobby

Declension

Declension of lobby 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative lobby lobbyn lobbyer lobbyerna
Genitive lobbys lobbyns lobbyers lobbyernas

References