promotion

American  

[pruh-moh-shuhn] / prəˈmoʊ ʃən /

noun

• promotions
  plural

1. advancement in rank or position.

2. furtherance or encouragement.

3. the act of promoting.

4. the state of being promoted.

5. something devised to publicize or advertise a product, cause, institution, etc., as a brochure, free sample, poster, television or radio commercial, or personal appearance.

6. Also called queening. Chess. the replacement of a pawn that has reached the enemy's first rank by a more powerful piece of the same color, usually a queen.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonpromotion
  noun
• prepromotion
  noun
• self-promotion
  noun
• promotional
  adjective
• unpromotional
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• promotions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of promotion

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Late Latin prōmōtiōn-, stem of prōmōtiō “movement forward, advancement”; equivalent to promote + -ion

Explanation

A promotion is a raise in pay or stature, or it's a way to raise the profile or attention of something. If you create an advertising promotion that increases sales of spray jeans in a can, for example, you might get a promotion to company vice-president. Words that start with pro- usually hint at something positive or forward moving, and a promotion is a moving up or a motion forward. A product promotion pushes the item out in front so it gets more exposure, and a work or school promotion raises your salary or moves you up a grade. If you’re in the military a promotion means a higher rank, with more people under your command, and the same happens if you earn a promotion in a club or organization like the scouts.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

promotion promotions

But after starring in Burnley's successful promotion in 2024-25 and the Clarets conceding just 16 goals, Trafford returned to City for £27m last summer with the hope of being Pep Guardiola's number one.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

Through constant touring and “tireless promotion of composers we assume were always famous,” Ms. Fritz writes, Clara shaped the musical canon according to her own exquisite ear and sophisticated taste.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

“Maintaining a sleep duration of 6-8 hours can effectively reduce the risk of multiple diseases, providing new insights for health promotion and preventive practice.”

From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026

In addition to the initial $40 million Amazon MGM Studios paid to license the project, the marketing and promotion budget was reportedly another $35 million.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

Most of Cluny’s army had an eye to promotion; not only for prestige—there were the extra shares of loot to be considered.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

Social-media users are savaging promotions depicting unnaturally regular greens, shrimp like O-rings, unhealthily slick noodles and stippled chicken.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

Disney is defying the theme-park industry’s summer slump by rolling out more promotions and package deals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

Evercore ISI analyst Kutgun Maral said the promotions from T-Mobile and AT&T appear to be “targeted escalation,” rather than the first shots fired in a price war.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

They began life in the Crawley & District League and, 25 years, 12 promotions and just one relegation later, they now play in National League South.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

He takes her to an Italian restaurant where he goes from time to time with people at work, to celebrate birthdays and promotions and projects well done.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri