press agent

noun

: an agent employed to establish and maintain good public relations through publicity
press-agent verb
press-agentry
ˈpres-ˈā-jən-trē How to pronounce press agent (audio)
noun

Examples of press agent in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Filmmakers need to be strategists, marketers, press agents, and dealmakers. — Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, 16 Dec. 2025 Early in his career, Shalit worked on the other side of the media industry, serving as press agent for Dick Clark. — Wendy Naugle, USA Today, 13 June 2026 Some of Hollywood’s most theatrical scandals were efficiently contained by press agents who nurtured their clout with cops and columnists alike. — Peter Bart, Deadline, 4 June 2026 Like Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi, and Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Patel has been his own worse press agent. — Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 28 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for press agent

Word History

Etymology

press entry 1

First Known Use

1883, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of press agent was in 1883

Rhymes for press agent

See All Rhymes for press agent

Browse Nearby Words

press agency
press agent
press-agentry
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Press agent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/press%20agent. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

press agent

noun
: a person employed to establish and keep up good public relations by publicity
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All