flack

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈflak 

: one who provides publicity

especially : press agent

a public relations flack

flackery

ˈfla-k(ə-)rē 

noun

flack

2 of 3

noun (2)

less common spelling of flak

1

: antiaircraft guns

2

: the bursting shells fired from flak

3

: criticism, opposition

She has taken a good deal of flak for espousing that view.

—E. J. Kahn, Jr.

When I was a restaurant bar manager I sometimes found myself taking flak from my customers for our high prices …

—Rob Hill

flack

3 of 3

verb

flacked; flacking; flacks

intransitive verb

: to act as a press agent or promoter for something

… Taylor Swift (Diet Coke), Beyonce (Pepsi) and Steve Harvey (Coke again) have flacked for soda.

—Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz

The director has been flacking for the up-and-coming stars in her new movie.

transitive verb

: to provide publicity for or promote (someone or something)

Since "Born to Run" was published in late September, the author has been flacking it in bookstores and theaters across the country.

—Casey Seiler

Did you know?

The verb flack comes from a noun flack: during the late 1930s, flack came to be used as a name for a press agent. According to one rumor, the word was coined in tribute to a well-known movie publicist of the time, Gene Flack. Another rumor holds that it derives from a similar-sounding Yiddish word for someone who talks about someone else's affairs. The editors of Merriam-Webster dictionaries remain skeptical about these claims and have listed the etymology of flack as "unknown." You may also be familiar with another flack—a noun meaning "criticism" or "opposition." This unrelated homograph stems from a misspelling of flak, a German acronym and English word for antiaircraft guns.

Examples of flack in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

This largely dreadful comedy had Billy Crystal as a PR flack trying to manage the fallout from megastars Catherine Zeta-Jones and John Cusack’s high-profile breakup, while trying to promote their disastrous upcoming movie. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025

The 2000's saw Britney Spears hit a low point due to intense public scrutiny and Ashlee Simpson catch serious flack for lip-synching through an SNL performance. —Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Oct. 2025

Verb

YouTube Premium Okay, so, really, ginormous Google doesn’t need anybody to flack for it and say nice things about its services. —Vulture, 27 Oct. 2023

Consider the case of Karen Hinton, a former Cuomo aide and flack for New York City mayor Bill de Blasio. —Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 10 Aug. 2021

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1) and Verb

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1933, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1963, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Rhymes for flack

• ack
• brack
• clack
• crack
• dak
• flak
• hack
• jack
• knack
• lac
• lack
• lak

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