lip service


noun

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

Origin of lip service

First recorded in 1635–45

OTHER WORDS FROM lip service

lip server, noun

Example sentences from the Web for lip service

British Dictionary definitions for lip service

lip service

noun

insincere support or respect expressed but not put into practice

Cultural definitions for lip service

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.”

Idioms and Phrases with lip service

lip service

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]