lackey

American  

[lak-ee] / ˈlæk i /

Or lacquey

noun

plural

lackeys

1. a servile follower; toady.

2. a footman or liveried manservant.

---

verb (used with object)

lackeyed, lackeying

1. to attend as a lackey does.

lackey British  

/ ˈlækɪ /

noun

1. a servile follower; hanger-on

2. a liveried male servant or valet

3. a person who is treated like a servant

---

verb

1. to act as a lackey (to)

Other Word Forms

• unlackeyed adjective

Etymology

Origin of lackey

1520–30; < Middle French laquais, perhaps < Catalan lacayo, alacayo < ?

Example Sentences

“Flummoxed by the lack of resources”—in other words, aware that a penniless Uganda needed to reform or collapse—he “comfortably settled” into the role of Western lackey.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 15, 2025

“Tell the brother he can stay, but he’s working for us,” Boy Kavalier tells a lackey, characterizing that instruction as “just a reminder that it’s my world. He just lives in it.”

From Salon • Aug. 31, 2025

That she and Franklyn task themselves with rewriting the copy instead of simply asking some lackey on the marketing team to request a less geriatric word for “suppository” is a colossal waste of their time.

From New York Times • Jun. 22, 2023

It was an unwelcome reminder of the lingering perception that the island nation somehow remains Moscow’s financial lackey.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 8, 2023

Favored lackey one day, persona non grata the next.

From "Among the Hidden" by Margaret Peterson Haddix