Jump To:

• advent
  advent

  noun

  a coming into place, view, or being; arrival.
• Advent
  Advent

  noun

  Christianity the season including the four Sundays preceding Christmas or (in Eastern Orthodox churches) the forty days preceding Christmas

advent

American  

[ad-vent] / ˈæd vɛnt /

noun

• advents
  plural

1. 

   a coming into place, view, or being; arrival.

   the advent of the holiday season.

   Synonyms:

   start, commencement, beginning, onset

2. Usually Advent the coming of Christ into the world.

3. Advent, the period beginning four Sundays before Christmas, observed in commemoration of the coming of Christ into the world.

4. Usually Advent Second Coming.

---

advent ¹ British  

/ ˈædvɛnt, -vənt /

noun

1. an arrival or coming, esp one which is awaited

---

Advent ² British  

/ ˈædvɛnt, -vənt /

noun

1. Christianity the season including the four Sundays preceding Christmas or (in Eastern Orthodox churches) the forty days preceding Christmas

---

Advent Cultural  

1. The coming of Jesus, either in the Incarnation of biblical times or in the Second Coming at the end of the world. Also, a time observed in many Christian churches in December to prepare for Christmas.

---

Usage

What is Advent season? Advent is the season before Christmas. In many branches of Christianity, Advent consists of the period starting four Sundays before Christmas. Among Christians, Advent is typically considered a season of preparation for the celebration of Christmas that also commemorates the coming of Jesus. The word Advent can also refer to the coming of Jesus into the world (it can also refer to what’s known as Jesus’s Second Coming). Religious rituals for Advent include the lighting of candles on an Advent wreath and the decoration of Jesse trees. Although Christmas is widely celebrated in both religious and secular (nonreligious) ways, Advent is primarily a religious observance. However, Advent calendars are a popular way of marking the days until Christmas even for those who do not celebrate it in religious ways. The similar season observed in anticipation of Easter is known as Lent.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• advents
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of advent

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English, from Latin adventus “arrival, approach,” equivalent to ad- “toward” + ven- (stem of venīre “to come”) + -tus suffix of verbal action; see ad-

---

Explanation

The advent of something means that it's finally here. You might be waiting for the advent of a new iPhone or for the advent of cloning. Don't hold your breath. Generally, the noun advent is used for the introduction of something important. The twentieth century saw the advent of many important inventions — including television, computers, and microwave dinners. If the word is capitalized, it has a religious meaning, referring to the period, observed in certain Christian religions, that begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas (December 25).

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

advent Advent advents

Combine that bleak outcome with the advent of DVR and social media — where any event can be discussed in depth, immediately — and boom: Bye bye, watercooler.

From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026

The advent of Pro Tools recording software in the 1990s and the rise of music streaming services in the early aughts irrevocably changed the business.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

Despite the advent of AI and 3D printing, many people here continue making the paper by hand.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

During the early days of the bull market, Citrini established its reputation by correctly anticipating several popular investment themes, from AI to the advent of GLP-1s.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026

Would she have been hired before the advent of screens?

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Stripe and Advent International reportedly made a bid to take over the payments company for $60.50 per share, valuing the company at roughly $53 billion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

In July, financial services platform Stripe and private equity firm Advent International made a takeover offer valued at more than $50 billion, but are said to have abandoned their pursuit, according to Bloomberg.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

Advent expects to close the New Zealand Clinical Research transaction in the December quarter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

Dixon said Advent saw potential to double NZCR’s annual revenue within three to five years of ownership through organic growth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

I also wait through the long Advent nights that are lit by a feeble white moon.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

An Ebola vaccine that uses MVA as a “backbone” also has caused no serious advents in some 50,000 children.

From Science Magazine ● Nov. 21, 2024

Sabrina’s twice-a-year advents, like Nailed It’s and Queer Eye’s before it, suggest Netflix is rediscovering the wisdom of broadcast TV’s periodic dole outs.

From Slate ● Mar. 13, 2019

That’s probably why, along with the advents of Instagram and the gig economy, New Yorkers have taken to the modern breakfasts served at the city’s rapidly multiplying Australian cafes.

From New York Times ● Jul. 24, 2018

Due primarily to the simultaneous advents of the DIY Maker Movement and the development of affordable 3D printers, costs have come down by orders of magnitude, and functionality has exploded.

From Scientific American ● Mar. 6, 2014

Always so deliberate, hardly surprised by the most outlandish advents.

From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• arrival
• coming
• onset

---