advertisement
Americannoun
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a paid announcement, as of goods for sale, in newspapers or magazines, on radio or television, or on the internet.
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a public notice, especially in print.
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the action of making generally known; a calling to the attention of the public.
The news of this event will receive wide advertisement.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of advertisement
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Middle French avertissement; see origin at advertise, -ment
Explanation
A public notice promoting the sale of a certain item is called an advertisement. The word is often shortened to ad. They're on TV, on the radio, online, in the paper — you can't even escape advertisements at the movies. Although advertisements are usually meant to persuade, they aren't always just for selling goods. They're a great way to get the word out on just about anything. You can place an advertisement for all kinds of things: to look for your long-lost sister, to hire an employee, or to announce a local dance. Even way back in the 1600s, the British were posting advertisements for trips to a newfound place called "Virginia."
Vocabulary lists containing advertisement
Media Literacy - High School
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Media Literacy - Middle School
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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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:
Paramount reportedly refused to air an advertisement from the Freedom of the Press Foundation critical of its leadership and merger, citing a “conflict of interest.”
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2026
The project Collins chose to champion in her first television advertisement in May was the Eastport breakwater, a pier in Eastport, Maine, that collapsed in 2014.
From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2026
Asked at a World Cup advertisement launch to name the best player of the new generation he said: "It would be Lamine. No doubt about it: for me, he is the best."
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
“Short-haul transport of methanol from Iran to the rest of the Persian Gulf; crew change in Dubai,” said one advertisement posted this month by a ship management company in the city of Xi’an recruiting seafarers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
In 1761, Washington took out a newspaper advertisement posting a reward for the return of four men who had escaped.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Hiddleston notes that “one great gift of Pompeii is that the Romans didn’t have paper, so the walls, the columns, the houses, the public buildings are covered in writing: deeds, business contracts, advertisements, gossip, doodles.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Brazil on Friday made it mandatory for gambling advertisements to carry warnings about addiction and money loss, tightening regulations on a sector that has exploded in recent years, dragging many into debt.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
Charles and Caroline mourn their part in that displacement; they set out for Kansas with the best of intentions, lured by false advertisements of “free” land that never was.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026
It wants Mickey’s to turn over all moose-related profits and “deliver up and destroy” all moose merchandise, signage, packaging and advertisements.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Names of buildings hover in neon colors over each of the skyscrapers, and bright, animated advertisements play across entire sides of buildings.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
