publicist
Americannoun
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publicists
plural
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a person who publicizes, especially a press agent or public-relations consultant.
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an expert in current public or political affairs.
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an expert in public or international law.
noun
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a person who publicizes something, esp a press or publicity agent
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a journalist
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rare a person learned in public or international law
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of publicist
From German, dating back to 1785–95; see origin at public, -ist
Explanation
A publicist creates a media buzz for movie stars, restaurants, or whoever else needs attention. A publicist for a new restaurant might send out a press release to newspapers and magazines announcing the opening, emphasizing the fabulous. Those whose careers depend on getting attention in the media (on TV and the internet, for example) sometimes pay a publicist to generate coverage in the press. Actors, restaurants, writers, and oil companies are all things or people that commonly use publicists. In the eighteenth century, the word instead meant "person who knows public law" or "writer on current topics."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,” her publicist, Marcel Pariseau, said in a statement Tuesday.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026
He and Wayfarer subsequently filed a $400-million lawsuit against Lively, her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and publicist Leslie Sloane, accusing them of defamation and other wrongdoing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Frank Beard, the longtime drummer of American rock-blues group ZZ Top, has died at the age of 77, the band and their publicist announced Tuesday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
Take Me Out host Paddy McGuiness is pictured front and centre of the Sun on Sunday, alongside a woman the paper says is BBC Radio 2 publicist Emma Carey.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Her publicist and her financial adviser are sitting on towels on the beach at Golden Gardens.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
This is what Walmart, the publicists for the nation’s hottest rising country act, and many politicians have noticed too.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
Mayor Karen Bass’ office did not respond to questions about whether she met with Lede, what direction its publicists gave city officials and what role the company had in preparing or editing the after-action report.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 21, 2026
He said all the articles "were sourced entirely legitimately from information variously provided by contacts of the journalists responsible", including press officers and publicists, freelance journalists, photographers and prior reports.
From BBC ● Jan. 19, 2026
Contemporary newspapers published flattering portraits apparently written by publicists on Dillon’s dime.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
I'm also relatively certain other teenagers in my neighborhood did not wake up at 5:00 in the morning, along with publicists and studio heads, just so they could watch the Oscar nominations announced live.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
