flack

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈflak 

: one who provides publicity

especially : press agent

a public relations flack

flackery

ˈfla-k(ə-)rē 

noun

flack

2 of 3

noun (2)

less common spelling of flak

1

: antiaircraft guns

2

: the bursting shells fired from flak

3

: criticism, opposition

She has taken a good deal of flak for espousing that view.

—E. J. Kahn, Jr.

When I was a restaurant bar manager I sometimes found myself taking flak from my customers for our high prices …

—Rob Hill

flack

3 of 3

verb

flacked; flacking; flacks

intransitive verb

: to act as a press agent or promoter for something

… Taylor Swift (Diet Coke), Beyonce (Pepsi) and Steve Harvey (Coke again) have flacked for soda.

—Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz

The director has been flacking for the up-and-coming stars in her new movie.

transitive verb

: to provide publicity for or promote (someone or something)

Since "Born to Run" was published in late September, the author has been flacking it in bookstores and theaters across the country.

—Casey Seiler

Did you know?

The verb flack comes from a noun flack: during the late 1930s, flack came to be used as a name for a press agent. According to one rumor, the word was coined in tribute to a well-known movie publicist of the time, Gene Flack. Another rumor holds that it derives from a similar-sounding Yiddish word for someone who talks about someone else's affairs. The editors of Merriam-Webster dictionaries remain skeptical about these claims and have listed the etymology of flack as "unknown." You may also be familiar with another flack—a noun meaning "criticism" or "opposition." This unrelated homograph stems from a misspelling of flak, a German acronym and English word for antiaircraft guns.

Examples of flack in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The other is the ultra-secular, sub-Sorkin politico-speak used by the hacks and flacks around McCain. —James Parker, The Atlantic, 1 Oct. 2024

Edie Falco 'took a lot of flack' for thinking Avatar 2 was a box office bomb before it had been released Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. —EW.com, 12 Sep. 2024

Amber Rose is currently catching flack over her endorsement speech at the convention. —Mya Abraham, VIBE.com, 16 July 2024

Representation matters is the dead-eyed refrain of the flacks who nag Julio to abandon his crazy flights of fancy and just make Gaytino already. —Judy Berman, TIME, 7 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1) and Verb

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1933, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1963, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!