lobby
large entrance area in a building
A big open room near the front door of a hotel, office, or other building where people come in, wait, or meet.
in the lobby of [a building]
- We agreed to meet in the hotel lobby at 7 p.m.
- The lobby was crowded with guests checking in and out.
- Please leave your bags in the lobby while we prepare your room.
- They decorated the office lobby with plants and modern art.
- Security asked visitors to wait in the lobby until their host arrived.
- I see you standing in the hotel lobby.
- Many people sit in the lobby and drink coffee.
- We walk through the lobby to reach the elevators.
- The lobby of this building is very big and bright.
organized group pressuring government
A group that tries to make the government support their ideas or protect their business or interest.
the [industry/interest] lobby
- The tobacco lobby spent millions of dollars trying to block the new regulations.
- Environmental lobby groups welcomed the government’s climate plan.
- The farmers' lobby has significant influence over agricultural policy.
- A powerful business lobby is pushing for lower corporate taxes.
- Critics say the gun lobby has too much power in Congress.
- The car industry has a strong lobby in this country.
- The health lobby wants higher taxes on sugar drinks.
- Some people think the gun lobby is too powerful.
- A new lobby is working to protect animal rights.
try to influence decision-makers
To speak to people with power again and again to try to change their decision or make them support your idea.
lobby [someone] for/against [something]
- The company hired lawyers to lobby the government for tax breaks.
- Parents are lobbying the school board to improve safety measures.
- Environmental groups have been lobbying hard against the new coal mine.
- They lobbied members of parliament for stricter gun control laws.
- Employees are lobbying management for more flexible working hours.
- Students plan to lobby the mayor about bus prices.
- Many doctors lobby the government for better hospitals.
- Workers want to lobby their boss for higher pay.
- The group lobbied against the new law.
corridor beside a parliament chamber
In a parliament building, the space next to the main room where members and other people can walk, wait, and talk.
in the lobby of [a parliament/house]
- Journalists waited in the lobby outside the House of Commons chamber.
- The minister spoke briefly to campaigners in the lobby before the vote.
- Lobby correspondents gather information by talking to politicians in the lobby.
- Protesters were not allowed into the chamber but gathered in the public lobby.
- She met several undecided MPs in the lobby just before the division.
- Reporters stand in the lobby outside the main room.
- Members talk to each other in the lobby between debates.
- Visitors can watch the busy lobby of the parliament.
- The lobby is next to the place where they vote.
- Base: lobby
- Plural: lobbies
- Base: lobby
- 3rd Person Singular: lobbies
- Present Participle: lobbying
- Past: lobbied
lobby against
1try to influence against something
To try to make people in power stop or reject a plan, law, or idea.
- Parents are lobbying against the closure of the local school.
- Several charities are lobbying against cuts to healthcare spending.
lobby for
1try to influence in favor
To try to make people in power support or accept a plan, law, or idea.
- Local businesses are lobbying for better public transport.
- The organization lobbied for stronger protections for migrant workers.
the gun lobby
1organized group supporting gun rights
Groups and organizations that work to stop new gun control laws and protect the right to own guns, especially in the US.
- The gun lobby has strongly opposed the new background check proposals.
- Many politicians are careful not to anger the gun lobby.