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Synonyms

spin doctor

American  

noun

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

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

"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
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.”

Etymology

Origin of spin doctor

First recorded in 1985–1990

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.

Less surprising perhaps is that Murdoch, owner of The Sun and The Times, was sat next to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's chief political spin doctor Morgan McSweeney.

From BBC • Sep. 18, 2025

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

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

From When Ghost Meets Ghost by De Morgan, William Frend

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.