lobby

9 definitions • 16 examples

to try to persuade a politician, the government, or an official group that a particular thing should or should not happen, or that a law should be changed:

lobby for/against Small businesses have lobbied hard for/against changes in the tax laws.

[ + to infinitive ] Local residents lobbied to have the factory shut down.

[ + obj + to infinitive ] They have been lobbying Congress to change the legislation concerning guns.

a group of people who try to persuade the government or an official group to do something:

the anti-smoking lobby

the (large) room into which the main entrance door opens in a hotel or other large building

in the UK parliament, a room where someone meets a member of parliament who they have arranged to talk to, or one of the two passages that members of parliament walk through as a way of voting

a large, open space just inside the main entrance of a public building such as a hotel, office building, or theater:

As you enter the lobby, you’ll see the elevators on your right.

a group of people who represent a particular industry or interest in dealing with a politician, official, etc.:

the environmental lobby

to try to persuade an elected official to take a particular action or change a law:

[ T ] Council members have been lobbying colleagues on how to vote.

to try to persuade someone in authority, usually an elected member of a government, to support laws or rules that give your organization or industry an advantage:

lobby against/for sth He lobbies against restrictions on investment.

lobby hard/heavily A coalition of business groups lobbied hard to have the legislation changed.

lobby congress/lawmakers/ministers He said private schools would lobby the General Assembly to restore the funding.

lobby to do sth After the fatal crash, safety experts blamed the fuel-tank design and lobbied to make the cars safer.

a group of people that lobbies someone in authority:

The leading employers' lobby called for less government regulation.

a powerful/strong/influential lobby A powerful lobby of property companies and retailers is being formed.

the pro-euro/pro-business/anti-gun lobby His firm has given £25,000 to the pro-euro lobby.

a business/consumer/trade lobby The government is under pressure from business lobbies who want taxes on companies reduced.

environmental/farmer's/energy lobby