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:
“He seemed to take a sort of pride in being the guardian of Los Angeles baseball, for lack of a better term,” said Hall of Fame president Josh Rawitch, then the Dodgers’ publicist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
He was “smart as hell,” and adored his hometown of Atlanta, said his cousin She L. Robinson, a publicist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Grande's publicist announced in August that the singer and actress would be "taking a step back from visibility" after her recent tour ended.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
“We had these all-female festivals in Olympia, and we had our own publicist, and they were like, how dare we?” says Brownstein.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
Maybe be a publicist or a person who finds new bands.
From "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky
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
What are the calls with publicists like now to get their clients to participate?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
Perhaps Hollywood's publicists have told their stars to play it straight to avoid any viral mishaps in the social media age.
From BBC ● Feb. 11, 2026
Lively filed a lawsuit in December against Baldoni, his company Wayfarer Studios, the company’s CEO Jamey Heath and publicists, among others.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 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
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
