English Word Reference Free

lobby

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

5 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

open dictionary

Access

Free

no sign-up needed

Detailed reference entry for the English word "lobby", 5-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "lobby" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "lobby" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

lobby is aEnglishnoun. It means: An entryway or reception area; vestibule; passageway; corridor. Pronounced /ˈlɒb.i/. It ranks #6,806 in English word frequency. Often confused with loy and lobe.

Key facts for lobby
PropertyValue
Headwordlobby
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈlɒb.i/
Letters5
Frequency rank#6,806
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs16
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of lobby in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for lobby is 5 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈlɒb.i/. Corpus data places it at rank #6,806 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 6 documented wrong-spelling variants for lobby, with forms such as "lboby", "llobby", and "lobbyy". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 16 confusable-pair relationships, "loy", "lobe", "Loeb", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Medieval Latin lobia, lobium, laubia (“a portico, covered way, gallery”), borrowed from Frankish *laubijā (“arbour, shelter”), related to Old English lēaf (“foliage”). More at leaf. Doublet of leaf, lodge, and loggia. Political sense derives from the e… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is lobby, spelled L-O-B-B-Y, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    An entryway or reception area; vestibule; passageway; corridor.
  2. 2
    That part of a hall of legislation not appropriated to the official use of the assembly.
  3. 3
    A class or group of interested people who try to influence public officials; collectively, lobbyists.
  4. 4
    A virtual area where meeting attendees can await admittance from an authorized person.
  5. 5
    A virtual area where players can chat and find opponents for a game.
  6. 6
    An apartment or passageway in the fore part of an old-fashioned cabin under the quarter-deck.
  7. 7
    A confined place for cattle, formed by hedges, trees, or other fencing, near the farmyard.
  8. 8
    A margin along either side of the playing field in the sport of kabaddi.
  9. 9
    A waiting area in front of a bank of elevators.

Etymology

From Medieval Latin lobia, lobium, laubia (“a portico, covered way, gallery”), borrowed from Frankish *laubijā (“arbour, shelter”), related to Old English lēaf (“foliage”). More at leaf. Doublet of leaf, lodge, and loggia. Political sense derives from the entrance hall of legislatures, where people traditionally tried to influence legislators because it was the most convenient place to meet them.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: lboby,llobby,lobbyy,loby,lobyb,olbby

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for lobby

Misspelling Variants of "lobby"

lboby5llobby6lobbyy6loby4lobyb5olbby5
Misspelling Variants of "lobby"

Frequency rank: #6,806 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "lobby"?
"lobby" is spelled L-O-B-B-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈlɒb.i/.
What does "lobby" mean?
As a noun, "lobby" means: An entryway or reception area; vestibule; passageway; corridor.
What words are commonly confused with "lobby"?
"lobby" is commonly confused with "loy", "lobe", "Loeb". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lobby"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lobby" is /ˈlɒb.i/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "lobby"?
From Medieval Latin lobia, lobium, laubia (“a portico, covered way, gallery”), borrowed from Frankish *laubijā (“arbour, shelter”), related to Old English lēaf (“foliage”). More at leaf. Doublet of leaf, lodge, and loggia. Political sense derives ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter L in our English index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.