public relations

noun, plural in form but usually singular in construction, often attributive

Definition of public relations

: the business of inducing the public to have understanding for and goodwill toward a person, firm, or institution also : the degree of understanding and goodwill achieved

Examples of public relations in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

First came Timothée Chalamet at the Golden Globes, flanking his mother (who was dressed in Off-White) in a black sequin Vuitton harness that the brand’s public relations team later insisted should be called a bib. — Rachel Hahn, Vogue, "Travis Scott Takes the Man Harness Into the Polar Vortex," 31 Jan. 2019 To help their bet, fund managers and analysts have made regular visits to Treasury and Congress, kept investment staffers in Washington and hired specialist public relations firms. — Andrew Ackerman, WSJ, "Popular Hedge Fund Bet on Fannie and Freddie Is Paying Off Big This Year," 26 Jan. 2019 Yakhina moved to Moscow to work in public relations, but her grandmother’s story was always on her mind. — Maria Danilova, The Seattle Times, "Russian novel tells story of survival, love in Stalin’s camp," 14 Jan. 2019 Twelve years ago, Caitlin and Samuel Dowe-Sandes headed to Marrakech from Los Angeles with the plan to take a year off from their careers in public relations and filmmaking, respectively, and indulge in an adventurous sabbatical. — Gisela Williams, ELLE Decor, "The Vivacious 18th-Century Marakesh Medina of Two L.A. Transplants," 28 Dec. 2018 In the spring, Facebook was rocked by the biggest public relations crisis in its history — the Cambridge Analytica data privacy scandal. — Casey Newton, The Verge, "The Verge 2018 tech report card: Facebook," 26 Dec. 2018 Another is a candid Polaroid of Bessette-Kennedy at her former job as a public relations executive at Calvin Klein in a polo shirt and skirt. — Liana Satenstein, Vogue, "For Rare Images of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, Follow This Tribute Instagram," 26 Dec. 2018 Key leaders in engineering, sales, human resources and public relations have departed. — Rebecca Ballhaus, WSJ, "Tesla Replaces General Counsel With Seasoned Trial Lawyer," 7 Dec. 2018 But public relations-wise, things haven’t been going great for the royal household of late. — Elise Taylor, Vogue, "How Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Are Spending Christmas This Year," 3 Dec. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'public relations.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

6 Feb 2019

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The first known use of public relations was in 1898

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More Definitions for public relations

public relations

noun

English Language Learners Definition of public relations

: the activity or job of providing information about a particular person or organization to the public so that people will regard that person or organization in a favorable way

: the relationship between an organization and the public