From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpublic relationsˌpublic reˈlations noun 1 [uncountable]BBABO the work of explaining to the public what an organization does, so that they will understand it and approve of it They ran their own successful public relations business in London.2 [plural]BBA the relationship between an organization and the public The project has been disastrous for the bank in terms of public relations. a public relations exercise (=done in order to improve the relationship between the public and an organization)GRAMMAR: Singular or plural verb?• In meaning 1, public relations is followed by a singular verb: Public relations is an interesting field to work in.• In meaning 2, public relations is followed by a plural verb: Our public relations are handled by Lisa Holden.
Examples from the Corpus
public relations• Examiner contributor Nancy Fox is a public relations consultant, educator and composer.• a public relations firm• Priorities concern improved membership services, relationships with other bodies, public relations, Hospitality magazine and staff training.• Regionals use a lot of material originated by public relations, sometimes in the form in which it was sent.• Messer admits that clear-cutting forests is bad for public relations.• He had been a lieutenant colonel in public relations in Baltimore.• Much of the talk about integrating international issues into the curriculum is public relations gibberish.• Miss Owada is thought to have held out for one concession: relatively open public relations.• The public relations boys had to work overtime again.public relations exercise• Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan looked upon the tournament as a public relations exercise rather than a moneymaking venture.• It has been a public relations exercise for this week's by-elections.• Mr Lang was accused of merely carrying out a public relations exercise, however.• In some sense this is no more than a public relations exercise, albeit a difficult one.• The District Council undertook a public relations exercise to monitor developers' proposals which came in a series of stages.• The Support Force was launched in September 1992 by the DoH in a disastrous public relations exercise.• Thus the Sizewell inquiry is little more than an expensive public relations exercise.• The tour was considered to have been a successful public relations exercise.From Longman Business Dictionarypublic relationsˌpublic reˈlations nounMARKETING1 abbreviation PR [uncountable] the work of explaining to the public what an organization does, so that they will understand it and approve of itThey hired a public relations company.We decided to launch a public-relations campaign, including newspaper ads and subway posters.2[plural] the relationship between an organization and the publicThe project has been disastrous for the bank in terms of public relations. 