noun plural but usually singular in construction
1. : the promotion of rapport and goodwill between a person, firm, or institution and other persons, special publics, or the community at large through the distribution of interpretative material, the development of neighborly interchange, and the assessment of public reaction
public relations are designed … to give a business a good reputation with the public — A.W.Page
public relations of a resort may be only a portion of the duties of the … general manager — Journal American Medical Association
if the officer is civil … he gets a lot more done, both in correcting the driver and in doing good public relations for his town — Fred Sharpe
took a pioneering step in public relations by asking … brokers to report the various attitudes toward the exchange they encountered generally — Newsweek
2.
a. : the degree of understanding and goodwill achieved between an individual, organization, or institution and the public
little favors, a helping hand, a brief visit, a kindly word, all add up to good public relations — S.I.Stuber
in a sense public relations is the measure of the extent to which an organization has adapted itself … to society — E.A.Cunningham
b. : application of the techniques for achieving this relationship
persuaded the President that it would be bad public relations to stay away from his White House desk more than two weeks at a time — New Republic
3.
a. : the art or science of developing reciprocal understanding and goodwill
universities offered courses in public relations — E.L.Bernays
b. : the professional staff entrusted with this task
public relations collects, prepares and distributes information to … the consuming public — Preview of American Viscose Corp.
why do the Air Forces Group people in public relations fire that upstairs when they don't know whether it's true or not — J.G.Cozzens