Words / B1

LOB-ee/ˈlɒbi/

To lobby is to try to influence officials: lobby the council; a lobbying campaign. A lobby is also the entrance hall of a hotel or theatre. Pressure group and campaign are cousins. Do not use lobby for a private complaint to a shop — that is a complaint. News: the gun lobby, the farming lobby (groups that lobby).

Meaning

To try to influence politicians or officials about a law or decision.

Examples

• “Parents lobbied the council to add a crossing outside the school.”
• “Parents lobbied MPs for a safer crossing.”
• “Wait in the hotel lobby, which is the entrance-hall sense, not politics.”

Good to know

lobby + official / for a change. Noun: a lobby group; also a hotel lobby. Close: campaign. Not a shop complaint.

Near in meaning

campaign

New