LIP SERVICE Definition & Meaning

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lip service

noun

insincere expression of friendship, admiration, support, etc.; service by words only:
He paid only lip service to the dictator.

lip service

noun

insincere support or respect expressed but not put into practice

lip service

Insincere agreement; to “pay lip service” is to consent in one's words while dissenting in one's heart: “The boss's support of affirmative action was merely paying lip service; he never committed himself to it in any substantial way.”

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Other �y��vlog Forms

lip server noun

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of lip service¹

First recorded in 1635–45

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Idioms and Phrases

Verbal but insincere expression of agreement or support. It is often put as pay or give lip service , as in They paid lip service to holding an election next year, but they had no intention of doing so . [Mid-1600s]

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

One of the local TV news reports summed up a theme of the demonstration this way: “Democratic Party has been paying lip service to the working class.”

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And we have to make sure the best practices that we have in place aren’t just lip service,” she said.

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You've talked about how there's a lot of lip service paid to women in roles of leadership in Hollywood.

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You see, it’s easy to give democracy lip service when it delivers the outcomes we want.

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He pays lip service to cutting spending but he doesn't really care about it.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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