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

The veteran Labour spin doctor was the party's head of press between 1998 and 2005 before working for Lord Blunkett and Sir Tony Blair.

From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026

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

For one episode, Gove interviewed Labour spin doctor and former cabinet minister Peter Mandelson.

From BBC • Oct. 20, 2024

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