How to Use lackey in a Sentence

lackey

noun
  • He was nothing but a spineless lackey of the establishment.
  • There’s an army of lackeys to dispatch before the big boss fight.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 16 Aug. 2023
  • Humphrey was seen as a Johnson lackey who would continue the war.
    — Patrick J. Buchanan, WSJ, 5 Apr. 2018
  • Flags can’t be racist, but people who choose to ignore oppression based on race (and their black lackeys) can.
    — Angela Helm, The Root, 30 Sep. 2017
  • Juries don’t like to see a kingpin get a sweet deal and then testify against a few lackeys or underlings.
    — Danny Cevallos /, NBC News, 22 Apr. 2018
  • Kelly’s lackeys dropped off meals, often delivered with a specific code knock on the door.
    — Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 31 Jan. 2026
  • King Arthur goes questing on a pretend horse, followed by his lackey clacking coconut shells.
    — Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2021
  • That means, of course, she’s now been phased out of her role as a factory lackey in dystopian near-future Brazil due to her age.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 3 Apr. 2026
  • Trump and his lackeys do their best to disrupt free and fair elections, abrogate freedom of speech and curtail press freedom.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 17 Feb. 2026
  • My favorite, of course, is Matt, the most confounding Housewives lackey in the franchise.
    — Jodi Walker, EW.com, 24 Aug. 2020
  • The star was already a household name before playing Shenzi, Scar’s chief lackey and leader of a hyena pack of three.
    — Diane J. Cho, Peoplemag, 12 Feb. 2023
  • McKenzie pulled political strings running all the way to the White House and managed to get a lackey on the bench.
    — David James, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Feb. 2021
  • Meanwhile, Hugo prepares to disrupt the GoJo deal as Ken’s lackey.
    — Shelly Tan, Washington Post, 26 May 2023
  • No wonder the police and some of their unquestioning lackeys in the political arena are trying to shut this avenue down.
    — Will Bunch, Philly.com, 28 June 2017
  • The portrayals of her as a lackey of big business bugged Breed, who first won a supervisor's seat in 2012.
    — Janie Har, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 June 2018
  • Goldberg was already a household name before playing Shenzi, Scar's chief lackey and leader of a hyena pack of three.
    — Diane J. Cho, Peoplemag, 12 Feb. 2023
  • These men and their lackeys have been the beneficiaries of positive discrimination, to say the least, for centuries.
    — Constance Grady, Vox, 23 June 2018
  • Matthew quickly schemes his way into Oliver’s orbit after that first performance, impressing and rankling the group of lackeys in his entourage at the same time.
    — Eric Torres, Pitchfork, 27 Aug. 2025
  • Its purpose is to maximize the president’s control over our lives, enrich his family, reward his lackeys and punish his critics.
    — Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune, 3 Sep. 2025
  • At the slightest provocation, Ye bullies, hectors, and screams at everyone from Paris fashion-show lackeys to the mother of his child.
    — Derek Robertson, The Washington Examiner, 10 Oct. 2025
  • So the president who can't empathize with people outside of his tax bracket is surrounded by lackeys who think people struggling with addiction should just bootstrap their way out of it.
    — Luke Darby, GQ, 27 Oct. 2017
  • Bono also worked, as a lackey and punching bag, for Phil Spector, the greatest music producer of the pre-Beatles era.
    — Rob Tannenbaum, Billboard, 18 May 2017
  • Mikkelsen and Holbrook, who are playing the villainous Voller and his lackey, Klaber, respectively, both briefly make their debut in the clip as well.
    — Lauren Huff, EW.com, 1 Dec. 2022
  • But now members of his more progressive voter base, including Buddhist monks, attack him for being a lackey of Washington.
    — John Lyons, WSJ, 30 Aug. 2017
  • In the flashback timeline, Mariana learns from her lackey Elroy that Sara is pregnant with her husband Cesar's child.
    — Quinci Legardye, Marie Claire, 6 Apr. 2021
  • Trump wants Americans to believe that his opponents are of this ilk, with his lackeys casting activists as domestic terrorists for merely showing up to protests.
    — Gustavo Arellano, Houston Chronicle, 25 Mar. 2026
  • Trump wants Americans to believe that his opponents are of this ilk, with his lackeys casting activists as domestic terrorists for merely showing up to protests.
    — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2026
  • In the months before the $5 million match, Ali turned up the invective, calling Frazier dumb, mocking his dark skin, and painting him as a lackey for his white handlers.
    — Vann R. Newkirk Ii, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2025
  • Western Puppet’ Khama’s public utterances haven’t gone down well among his African peers, some of whom have labeled him a lackey of Western governments.
    — Rene Vollgraaff, Bloomberg.com, 1 Mar. 2018
  • His Republican lackeys, the same ones who natter on about limited government and deregulation and staying out of businesses’ way, will presumably get onboard with this.
    — Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 25 Feb. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lackey.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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