Meanings
alternative lipservice · alternative lip-service
- idiomaticuncountablePromising but empty talk; words without action or intention.
The candidate gave lip service to fixing the problems, but it is doubtful that he will do much.
3 more examples
Don’t madam me, — I can’t bear none of your lip service. I’m a plain-spoken woman, that’s what I am, and I like other people’s tongues to be as plain as mine.
1897, Richard Marsh, The BeetleYour love is thick, and it swallowed me whole / You're so much braver than I gave you credit for / That's not lip service
1995, Alanis Morissette, “Head over Feet”, in Jagged Little Pill“OK, let’s see if he’s really being honest about this,” Ms. Neloms, 42, who is Black, recalled thinking. “My prayer is that it’s not just lip service.”
2020 November 11, John Eligon, Audra D. S. Burch, “Black Voters Helped Deliver Biden a Presidential Victory. Now What?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 22 Feb 2021 - slanguncountablevulgarCunnilingus (sometimes also referred to as giving lip).
Jack gave Samantha lip service.
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
nounan expression of agreement that is not supported by real conviction
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
First use appears c. 1590, in A Treatise against Witchcraft by Henry Holland. Compare earlier lip-labour.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Cantonese 空口
- 空口Empty talk; words absent of action or intention
Chinese Mandarin 空口
- 空口 (kōngkǒu)Empty talk; words absent of action or intention
Dutch lippendienst
- lippendienstEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
Finnish tyhjä puhe, tyhjät sanat
- tyhjä puheEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
- tyhjät sanatEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
French baratin, boniment
- baratinEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
- bonimentEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
German Lippenbekenntnis
- LippenbekenntnisEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
Indonesian omon-omon
- omon-omonEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
Italian promessa vuota, adesione di facciata
- promessa vuotaEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
- adesione di facciataEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
Japanese 口先, リップサービス
- 口先 (kuchisaki)Empty talk; words absent of action or intention
- リップサービス (rippu sābisu)Empty talk; words absent of action or intention
Māori ngutu kau, tautoko-ā-māngai
- ngutu kauEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
- tautoko-ā-māngaiEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
- pare-ā-wahaEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
- kai-ā-wahaEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
Norwegian tomprat, tomt prat
- tompratEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
- tomt pratEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
Portuguese papo furado, falar da boca para fora
- papo furadoEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
- falar da boca para foraEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
Russian пусты́е слова́, неи́скренние словоизлия́ния
- пусты́е слова́ (pustýje slová)Empty talk; words absent of action or intention
- неи́скренние словоизлия́ния (neískrennije slovoizlijánija)Empty talk; words absent of action or intention
- пустословие (pustoslóvije)Empty talk; words absent of action or intention
Spanish choro, rollo
- choroEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
- rolloEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
- labiaEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
- hacer brindis al solEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
- floroEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
- floreoEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
- palabreríaEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
- falsas promesasEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
- solamente palabras bonitasEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
- gesto vacíoEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
- habla con la boca pequeñaEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
- habla de boquillaEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
Swedish läpparnas bekännelse
- läpparnas bekännelseEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
Tagalog ngawngaw
- ngawngawEmpty talk; words absent of action or intention
Cite this entry
lip service. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lip%20service
“lip service.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lip%20service. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lip service,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lip%20service.
Source: lip service on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.