What does PR stand for? In business and the news, it nearly always means public relations, the work of shaping how a company, a school, a person or a cause is seen by the public. At the gym or on a running app, though, PR means personal record, your best lift or fastest time so far.
Two letters this short pick up many jobs. On an envelope, PR is the postal code for Puerto Rico. On a software team, it is a pull request. The guide below shows each meaning and the clues that tell them apart.
Quick facts
Main meaning
Public relationsAt the gym
Personal record (your best so far)Postal code
Puerto RicoIn software
Pull requestType
Initialism, said P RAlso written
P.R. in some older textRelated
PB, personal best
PR meaning by setting
| Setting | Stands for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Business, news | Public relations | "Our PR team is drafting a statement." |
| Gym, running | Personal record | "I hit a deadlift PR today." |
| Mail, forms | Puerto Rico | "San Juan, PR 00901" |
| Software | Pull request | "Can you review my PR before lunch?" |
| Newsrooms | Press release | "The PR goes out at 9 a.m." |
| Immigration | Permanent residence, in some countries | "She just got her PR card." |
When none of the clues help, public relations is the safest guess.
What does PR stand for in marketing?
Public relations is the part of communications that deals with reputation and earned attention. Advertising buys space; PR tries to earn it, through news stories, interviews, events and social posts. A PR person, sometimes called a publicist or a communications officer, may write a press release, set up an interview, answer reporters' questions or plan what to say when something goes wrong.
Job posting: "Seeking PR coordinator to manage media lists and pitch local outlets." The role involves contacting reporters and editors to get coverage, not running paid ads.
The phrase "good PR" or "bad PR" also works in daily talk: a company that fixes a mistake quickly gets good PR, and a rude reply to a customer can be bad PR. A related term is PSA, a public service announcement. More business letters sit in the famous acronyms list.
What does PR stand for in the gym?
For lifters, runners and swimmers, a PR is a personal record: the heaviest weight you have moved for a certain number of reps, or your fastest time over a set distance. Hitting a new one is a common goal.
- 1RM PR: your best single rep on a lift, such as a squat.
- Rep PR: the most reps at a given weight.
- Race PR: your fastest finish at a distance, like a 5K.
PR doubles as a verb, too: "I PR'd on bench press" means you beat your old best. Runners in some places say PB, personal best, for the same idea. Coaches often track effort with RPE, rate of perceived exertion, alongside PRs.
PR as Puerto Rico and as pull request
Puerto Rico is a US territory, and PR is its two letter postal code, used on envelopes and forms in the same way states use theirs. Put it after the city, in capitals: "Ponce, PR 00716." The state abbreviations page lists the full set.
On a software team, a pull request is a proposed set of code changes that a developer asks teammates to review and merge into the main project. "Open a PR" means submit those changes for review.
How to say and write PR
Say both letters, "pee ar." Letters spoken one by one form an initialism, a point the what is an acronym guide covers. Modern American writing keeps PR in capitals without dots.
- The article is a: a PR firm, a PR on squats.
- Plural: PRs.
- Past tense as a verb: PR'd or PRed.
- Spell out public relations on first use in formal writing if readers may not know it.
PR stands for one thing in a sentence, so read around it
- "The festival hired a PR agency for launch week." (public relations)
- "Three PRs in one meet is a great day." (personal records)
- "Shipping to PR takes a few extra days." (Puerto Rico)
- "I left two comments on your PR." (pull request)
- "That apology felt like a PR move." (public relations, with a skeptical tone)
Questions people ask
What does PR mean in texting?
Most often it means personal record, when friends share workout wins, or public relations, when talking about a company's image. In some chats it can also mean Puerto Rico.
What is the PR abbreviation on a letter?
On an address line, PR is the postal code for Puerto Rico. It goes after the city name, before the ZIP code.
What does PR stand for in the gym, exactly?
It stands for personal record, your best performance so far on a lift or a timed event. Beating it is called hitting a PR.
What is the difference between PR and marketing?
Marketing covers all the ways a business promotes what it sells, including paid ads. PR is one part of that, focused on reputation and earned media coverage.
Is PR the same as PB?
Yes, in sports. Personal record and personal best mean the same thing, and which one people use depends on habit and region.