banner

American  

[ban-er] / ˈbæn ər /

noun

• banners
  plural

1. the flag of a country, army, troop, etc.

2. an ensign or the like bearing some device, motto, or slogan, as one carried in religious processions, political demonstrations, etc.

3. a flag formerly used as the standard of a sovereign, lord, or knight.

4. a sign painted on cloth and hung over a street, entrance, etc..

   Banners at the intersection announced the tennis tournament.

5. anything regarded or displayed as a symbol of principles.

6. Heraldry. a square flag bearing heraldic devices.

7. Also called line, screamer, streamer.  Also called banner line,.  Journalism. a headline extending across the width of a newspaper page, usually across the top of the front page.

8. an open streamer with lettering, towed behind an airplane in flight, for advertising purposes.

9. Also called banner ad.  an advertisement that appears across the top or bottom or along one side of a web page.

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adjective

1. leading or foremost.

   a banner year for crops.

   Synonyms:

   vintage, red-letter, winning, record, notable

banner British  

/ ˈbænə /

noun

1. a long strip of flexible material displaying a slogan, advertisement, etc, esp one suspended between two points

2. a placard or sign carried in a procession or demonstration

3. something that represents a belief or principle

   a commitment to nationalization was the banner of British socialism

4. the flag of a nation, army, etc, used as a standard or ensign

5. (formerly) the standard of an emperor, knight, etc

6. Also called: banner headline.  a large headline in a newspaper, etc, extending across the page, esp the front page

7. an advertisement, often animated, that extends across the width of a web page

8. a square flag, often charged with the arms of its bearer

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verb

1. (tr) (of a newspaper headline) to display (a story) prominently

adjective

1. outstandingly successful

   a banner year for orders

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bannered
  adjective
• bannerless
  adjective
• bannerlike
  adjective
• unbannered
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• banners
  plural

Etymology

Origin of banner

1200–50; Middle English banere < Old French baniere < Late Latin bann ( um ) (variant of bandum standard < Germanic, compare Gothic bandwa sign; see band ¹) + Old French -iere < Latin -āria -ary

Explanation

As you listen to your guests sing to you on your birthday, you may see a long banner, or sign, hanging from the ceiling and announcing in sparkly letters, "Happy Birthday to You!" The noun banner often refers to a long sign that is announcing or advertising something. A banner might declare "Congratulations!" "Free Hot Dogs Here!" or, at a protest, "We're Not Going to Take It Anymore!" Banners have also gone virtual; it's hard to avoid seeing at least one annoying advertising banner across the top of any highly-trafficked website. A banner can also be a flag, as in "The Star Spangled Banner," or a championship banner hanging in a school gym.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

banner banners

In the 20th century, Vladimir Lenin would laud Herzen for “raising the banner of revolution” against an oppressive czarist regime.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

But in death as in life, Parton left us one of the few spaces where Americans can still unite under a single banner: The banner of Dolly.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

During the climb, the pair, clad in black outfits with their faces covered, unfurled a banner that read: "When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace."

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

A banner would have delivered Greenpeace's message just as easily, without affecting the environment, Evans said.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

"Hurray for Wine! Hurray for the Foreigners!" was painted on the banner.

From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway

Many prominently featured slogans, which were intertwined with suffragette banners and ribbons.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

TJX TJX 0.00%increase; up pointing triangle raised its full-year profit outlook after reporting higher second-quarter sales and earnings, as more budget-leery shoppers continued to flock to its banners for discounted home goods and apparel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

Elsewhere in Washington, the now-defunct US Institute of Peace was also renamed after Trump, and his face has stared down from huge banners hung outside the Justice and Agriculture Departments.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

Demonstrators carried Argentine flags and banners reading "The homeland is not for sale," an AFP correspondent observed.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

These buildings were steel and glass and hard to tell apart; they all held enormous banners that swept from their lowest to highest windows.

From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Related Words

• emblem
• headline
• pennant
• streamer