public figure

American  

[puhb-lik fig-yer] / ˈpʌb lɪk ˈfɪg jər /

noun

public figures plural

1. a person who is widely known; celebrity.

   The journalist talked about the often troubled relationship between public figures and the news media.

   Famous athletes, actors, and other public figures have championed the issue.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• public figures
  plural

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

public figure

The BBC has been told potential claimants included "the usual suspects" who had won cases against other newspapers, as well as one public figure linked to the royal family.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

“I have been attacked again and again, and I am the most physically and verbally attacked public figure or politician of modern times,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

As open as he is in his music, Beatty is figuring out how open he wants to be as a public figure.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026

"This isn't really an accusation, something from more than 30 years ago, but rather a public attack on a public figure," Fabian Fernandez, a 30-year-old accountant, told AFP in Havana.

From Barron's ● May 21, 2026

But there was a more recent author and public figure whose work spoke to the core of a new set of issues I was struggling with: the Bronx’s own Colin Powell.

From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore

Related Words

• someone
• whoever