Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Public interest, notice, or notoriety generated or gained by disseminating information through various media.
  • noun The act, process, or occupation of disseminating information to gain public interest.
  • noun Information about someone or something that is disseminated through various media to attract public notice.
  • noun Archaic The condition of being public.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The state of being public, or open to the observation or inquiry of a community; notoriety: as, to give publicity to a private communication.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The quality or state of being public, or open to the knowledge of a community; notoriety; publicness.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Advertising or other activity designed to rouse public interest in something.
  • noun Public interest attracted in this way.
  • noun The condition of being the object of public attention.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the quality of being open to public view
  • noun a message issued in behalf of some product or cause or idea or person or institution

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French publicité, from public, public, from Old French; see public.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French publicité.

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Examples

  • I hope all this (mostly negative) Palin publicity is actually going to help Obama win.

    Thoughts on the US general elections « One Size Fits One 2008

  • I know full well that expert book reviewers, librarians, and teachers don't get the $$$ that many a publisher and/or book creator does ... and I also know full well that no expert reviewer, librarian, or teacher has the vested self interest in publicity that most book creator/blogger reviewers have -- not that such publicity is as much of a publicity as the bloggers seem to think it it all is.

    This is why I don't have a blogroll. Or friends. Roger Sutton 2007

  • So to be so angry and hasty about the publicity is a waste of your energy.

    Congressman Peter King Defends Michael Jackson “Pervert” Rant 2009

  • And the sheriff told us today at the press conference, not only are the mom and dad involved in the conspiracy but they are looking at production companies and media outlets around the country, and they may send their sheriffs deputies out of state to interview some of these people and try to get to the bottom of really who was involved in this, what they call publicity stunt.

    CNN Transcript Oct 18, 2009 2009

  • You will be aware -- if our publicity is at all effective -- that our Railway lines serve all of Canada and 11 States South of the Border.

    Talking Shop 1951

  • A jealous few were enraged at what they called publicity hunting, but most realised that it was not a private fight.

    Gilbert Keith Chesterton Maisie Ward 1932

  • Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid on Sunday denounced Jones' "trial" - which he described as a "publicity stunt" - and said Congress would "take a look at" a possible condemnation of the act.

    Breaking News: CBS News 2011

  • In a news conference discussing what he called a publicity stunt, Alderden said county social service workers had been called in to check on the safety of the three Heene boys.

    coloradoan.com - Local News 2009

  • What kind of publicity is short fiction ever given, really?

    Salute Your Shorts yuki_onna 2010

  • Needless to say, that kind of publicity is not good for business.

    Turning a Social Profit: Human Rights in the Age of Globalisation 1997

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