publicist
Americannoun
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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:
Saar’s death was confirmed by her publicist Hannah Gottlieb-Graham.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
ProPublica reached out to Tyson through ELEV8 and his Florida publicist but did not get a response.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
Swift's longtime publicist Tree Paine confirmed to the BBC that the two wed on Friday in New York City and offered details from the ceremony.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Among the songs that have been taken down from streaming platforms by Rancho Humilde are “Triston,” “Todos nos Shipean” and “67,” according to the band’s publicist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
“Recognition was important to Scott,” says Jane Bromet, his publicist, confidant, and occasional training partner, who accompanied the Mountain Madness expedition to Base Camp to file Internet reports for Outside Online.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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
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
Crowe was covering rock music at a time when publicists had not become the human guardrails they are today, insulating their clients from anything that doesn’t celebrate them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 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.
