public relations

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noun

(used with a plural verb) the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc.

(used with a singular verb) the art, technique, or profession of promoting such goodwill.

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Origin of public relations

First recorded in 1800–10

Words nearby public relations

public-opinion poll, public ownership, public policy, public prosecutor, Public Record Office, public relations, public room, public sale, public school, public sector, public servant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use public relations in a sentence

A former sportswriter who covered the Washington NFL team for the now-defunct Washington Star and the Washington Times, Hurney spent a year in the team’s public relations department before following general manager Bobby Beathard to San Diego.
Washington is working on a deal to hire Marty Hurney as team’s new GM|Nicki Jhabvala|January 19, 2021|Washington Post
A public relations staffer asked Young if he wanted to speak to the media.
Chase Young’s upbringing made him a ‘crazy unusual’ leader, and Washington is already following|Sam Fortier|January 1, 2021|Washington Post
As Stimson began logging in another coastal watershed, which supplies drinking water to the nearby town of Oceanside, the company tried to mitigate the public relations damage from a citizen group that Webster formed.
Timber Tax Cuts Cost Oregon Towns Billions. Then Polluted Water Drove Up the Price.|by Tony Schick, Oregon Public Broadcasting, and Rob Davis, The Oregonian/OregonLive|January 1, 2021|ProPublica
Boston Dynamics’ primary output from a public relations perspective was viral videos of impressive but imposing quadrupedal robots built with the aid of defense department contracts.
2020 will change the way we look at robotics|Brian Heater|December 30, 2020|TechCrunch

Jim Olson is a public relations professor of practice at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications and a former corporate communications executive at United Airlines, Starbucks, and US Airways.
After 2020, we all need a gap year|matthewheimer|December 25, 2020|Fortune
When cities started adding chlorine to their water supplies, in the early 1900s, it set off public outcry.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
Not to be left behind, progressives in neighboring Wisconsin clamored to join the cutting edge of public health.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
Just the hard-on before you shoot unarmed members of the public.
'Babylon' Review: The Dumb Lives of Trigger-Happy Cops|Melissa Leon|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Great American leaders have long contributed profound thoughts of tremendous consequence to the public discourse.
Huckabee 2016: Bend Over and Take It Like a Prisoner!|Olivia Nuzzi|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Saved from the public gallows, Weeks was virtually exiled from the city, and wound up in Mississippi, where he raised a family.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
As such it is now presented to the public for whatever meed of praise or censure it is found to deserve.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
Five of the number had studied with Liszt before, and the young men are artists already before the public.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
Many of these have been seen in the Corcoran Art Gallery and in other public exhibitions.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
It was close upon twelve o'clock, and the "Rooms" had been open to the public for two hours.
Rosemary in Search of a Father|C. N. Williamson
It will be a busy session; and I want to see if I can't become a useful public man.
Elster's Folly|Mrs. Henry Wood

British Dictionary definitions for public relations

public relations

noun (functioning as singular or plural)

the practice of creating, promoting, or maintaining goodwill and a favourable image among the public towards an institution, public body, etc
the methods and techniques employed
(as modifier)the public relations industry

the condition of the relationship between an organization and the public

the professional staff employed to create, promote, or maintain a favourable relationship between an organization and the public

Abbreviation: PR

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

public relations

Origin of public relations

Words nearby public relations

Words related to public relations

How to use public relations in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for public relations