advertise
Americanverb (used with object)
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advertises,
present (3rd person singular)
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advertised,
past participle, past
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advertising
present participle
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to announce or praise (a product, service, etc.) in some public medium of communication in order to induce people to buy or use it.
to advertise a new brand of toothpaste.
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to give information to the public about; announce publicly in a newspaper, on radio or television, etc..
to advertise a reward.
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to call attention to, in a boastful or ostentatious manner.
Stop advertising yourself!
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Obsolete. to give notice, advice, or information to; inform.
I advertised him of my intention.
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Obsolete. to admonish; warn.
verb (used without object)
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advertises,
present (3rd person singular)
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advertised,
past participle, past
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advertising
present participle
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to ask for something by placing a notice in a newspaper, over radio or television, etc..
to advertise for a house to rent.
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to offer goods for sale or rent, solicit funds, etc., by means of advertisements.
It pays to advertise.
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Cards.
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Poker. to bluff so as to make the bluff obvious.
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Rummy. to discard a card in order to induce an opponent to discard one of the same suit or denomination.
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verb
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to present or praise (goods, a service, etc) to the public, esp in order to encourage sales
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to make (something, such as a vacancy, article for sale, etc) publicly known, as to possible applicants, buyers, etc
to advertise a job
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to make a public request (for), esp in a newspaper, etc
she advertised for a cook
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obsolete to warn; caution
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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advertisernoun
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preadvertisernoun
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overadvertiseverb
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preadvertiseverb
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readvertiseverb
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advertisableadjective
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unadvertisedadjective
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well-advertisedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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advertisesimple
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advertisessimple
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have advertisedperfect
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has advertisedperfect
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am advertisingprogressive
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are advertisingprogressive
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is advertisingprogressive
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have been advertisingperfect progressive
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has been advertisingperfect progressive
Past
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advertisedsimple
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had advertisedperfect
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was advertisingprogressive
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were advertisingprogressive
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had been advertisingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of advertise
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English advertisen, from Middle French avertiss-, long stem of avertir, from Vulgar Latin advertire (unrecorded), Latin advertere “to pay attention,” literally, “to turn toward” ( see advert 1); the expected Middle English advertishen (unrecorded) probably conformed to advertisement or the suffix -ize
Explanation
The verb advertise means to publicize a service or product in order to try to get you to buy or use it. If you see people eating delicious-looking chocolate in a television commercial, for example, you'll probably want to buy it. You don't have to use television, radio, or print media to advertise something — or even try to sell it at all. In fact, the word advertise can also simply mean to call attention to something. Your neighbors might advertise their lottery win by parking flashy cars in the driveway and having an endless supply of packages delivered to their house.
Vocabulary lists containing advertise
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Trying to advertise on TikTok has also become "like an obstacle course", O'Neill added.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
“If you use AI to advertise your restaurant, market, or anything else,” one person wrote, “I will know that you don’t care about food or the planet and I will never ever patronize your business.”
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
Stellantis will adopt a minimum advertised pricing rule next month, setting a floor for the lowest price its dealers can advertise a vehicle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
Hourly installation and maintenance jobs tied to data centers advertise pay about 42% higher than comparable roles elsewhere.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
The companies generally advertise around Valentine’s Day, and judging from their longevity they must be doing a fairly good business.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
Both also directly target state residents: Gatalog advertises a “California Compliant Glock 19-based Carbine kit,” while Polymakers’ website features Proposition 65 warnings and state-specific privacy opt-out features.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026
A sign at the Romantic Center advertises an AI platform that uses photos of couples to imagine their future children.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
The physician behind it advertises direct consultations costing as much as $18,000.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
On its official website, the court advertises itself to visitors as the “final arbiter of the law,” and thus the Constitution’s “guardian and interpreter.”
From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026
“Any merchant who advertises ‘Honest Scales’ must have been thinking about weighting them,” she says.
From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston
But a study in the Journal of Advertising Research last year found that people were willing to spend more money on products advertised by “petfluencers” on social media than products touted by humans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
It also sweetened advertised salaries for new captains and first officers, according to its website.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Zanotta advertised the first beanbag chair, the polystyrene-filled “Sacco,” as “A Big Bag, a Soft Seat.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Ghost kitchens asked diners to accept a peculiar new distance between the restaurant being advertised and the human reality of the meal.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
The movie is just as the video game poster advertised except the main character doesn’t wear a brown-bag dress.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
New campaign finance filings revealed that much of the advertising flurry was funded by one highly motivated donor: Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest man.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026
The advertising agency has since acknowledged its mistake and refunded the money.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
The BBC has seen emails from the company advertising a "three-month recruitment programme" offering "training and placement with sponsorship" for £5,500.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
Cash back from the government will help pay for advertising and branding, companies say, though the messages may partly be marketing of their own.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
Or taken an apartment in New York and worked for a magazine or an advertising company.
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
