Gloss
All idioms
C2idiompoliticsIELTS-friendly

pay lip service to something

USUK

to say you support something without doing anything to help it

Critical and fairly formal; common in journalism and essays about policies and promises.

In context

  • Many companies pay lip service to protecting the environment but change very little.

  • Politicians often pay lip service to young people's concerns during election campaigns.

More idioms about politics