lip-sync a song

Meaning

This means to move your lips in synchronization with a pre-recorded audio track, pretending to sing the song live. It is common in music videos, drag shows, TikTok videos, and sometimes during live concerts when a performer has a demanding dance routine. The tone is neutral, but can sometimes be critical if a professional singer does it during a concert.

Examples

• Many actors have to lip-sync a song when filming musical numbers.

  Many actors have to lip-sync a song when filming musical numbers.

• She didn't actually sing live; she was just lip-syncing a song.

  She didn't actually sing live; she was just lip-syncing a song.

• The social media app became famous for videos of teenagers lip-syncing songs.

  The social media app became famous for videos of teenagers lip-syncing songs.

• It's obvious when performers lip-sync a song because their mouth movements don't match the audio.

  It's obvious when performers lip-sync a song because their mouth movements don't match the audio.

• He had to practice for hours to lip-sync the fast-paced rap song perfectly.

  He had to practice for hours to lip-sync the fast-paced rap song perfectly.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ She was lip-singing the song.

  ✓ She was lip-syncing the song.

  The correct term is 'lip-sync' (short for synchronization), not 'lip-sing', even though it involves singing.

• ✗ He did a lip-sync of a song.

  ✓ He lip-synced a song.

  While 'lip-sync' can be a noun, it is much more natural to use it directly as a verb: 'to lip-sync a song'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• Instead of singing live on stage, the pop star decided to ___.

  💡 Pretend to sing along to a track.

  Show answer

  lip-sync the song

• It is hard to ___ when there are fast lyrics and you don't know the words.

  💡 Match your lips to the music.

  Show answer

  lip-sync a song