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Glite Dictionary
lip sync

lip sync

2 3.8
To move your lips to match a recorded voice or song
  • noun
  • /lɪp sɪŋk/
translation icon : sincronización labial
  • In the music video, the stars included clever ways to enhance their lip sync performances.

Like, I think my, my wig that I wear in the final, my first finale lip sync, which is like, ginger.

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Examples

  • But that was especially a fun thing for Lip Sync Battle because it was live and it was, I believe the voting was live as well.

  • Wow, you guys, I did not win the lip sync battle and it's still, I still carry that around to this day.

  • John: They were a lip sync group.

    Blog text (5)

  • Often on stage, rappers lip-sync to the recorded song.

    Academic text (2009)

  • We prepared our lip sync performance, which was singing to Madonna's holiday.

    The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

  • Apparently, knowing how to sing live is a minor requirement; just check out the lip sync performances of the top acts like Rihanna and Chris Brown.

    Blog text (5)

  • During the talent show, she impressed the audience with her flawless lip sync to a popular pop song.

  • The contestants had to perform a challenging lip sync routine to win the championship title.

Synonyms

lip synchronization
vslip sync
  • US
5.4

To match sound with video so a person's lips move at the same time

focuses on matching a performer's mouth with recorded speech in performance settings
lip synch
vslip sync
  • UK
4.8

Matching mouth movements to recorded sound in a video or live show

is a broader synchronization concept used in technical and performance contexts

How Synchronized

lip sync
2 3.8
to mismatch
13 4.2

Surface Forms

lip sync singular
lip syncs plural
lipsyncs plural
lipsync singular

Morphology

lip + sync

The meaning is directly compositional: 'lip' (mouth edges) + 'sync' (to synchronize) yields synchronizing lip movements with audio. This formation follows a straightforward noun-noun/verb-noun composition found cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The expression lip sync comes from the words lip and sync, which is short for 'synchronize'. It paints a clear picture: performers move their mouths to match a recording, so today lip sync means 'to move your lips to match pre-recorded audio'.