spin doctor

American  

noun

1. Slang. a press agent skilled at spin control.

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spin doctor British  

noun

1. informal a person who provides a favourable slant to an item of news, potentially unpopular policy, etc, esp on behalf of a political personality or party

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spin doctor Idioms  

1. An individual charged with getting others to interpret a statement or event from a particular viewpoint, as in Charlie is the governor's spin doctor. This term, born about 1980 along with spin control, uses doctor in the colloquial sense of “one who repairs something.”

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Etymology

Origin of spin doctor

First recorded in 1985–1990

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spin doctor

As Lucy, she is refreshingly droll, hitting the film’s comedic beats with a softer touch that lends itself to her character’s tendency to play the spin doctor.

From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2025

Described as “part Svengali, part spin doctor, part strategist” by the London Standard in 2006, Hilton was a senior adviser and close confidant of Cameron, who served as Britain’s prime minister from 2010 to 2016.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2025

Former Downing Street spin doctor Guto Harri said on Monday Mr Davies should “look in the mirror and consider whether somebody else could do a better job”.

From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2024

That, famously, was how Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell intervened to stop his boss, Tony Blair, from answering a journalist's question about religion.

From BBC ● Feb. 21, 2023

You fairly make my head spin, doctor, digging up of old-time memories.

From When Ghost Meets Ghost by De Morgan, William Frend

Related Words

• publicist