advert
1 Americanverb (used without object)
-
adverts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
adverted,
past participle, past
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adverting
present participle
-
to remark or comment; refer (usually followed byto ).
He adverted briefly to the news of the day.
- Synonyms:
- allude
-
to turn the attention (usually followed byto ).
The committee adverted to the business at hand.
noun
-
adverts
plural
noun
verb
Usage
What does advert mean? Advert is short for advertisement. It is primarily used in the U. K. in the same way that American speakers use the word ad. Advert is also a verb that means to call attention to or reference something. This is easy to remember since the purpose of advertisements is to get your attention. Example: There are way too many adverts on this page.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
advertsimple
-
advertssimple
-
have advertedperfect
-
has advertedperfect
-
am advertingprogressive
-
are advertingprogressive
-
is advertingprogressive
-
have been advertingperfect progressive
-
has been advertingperfect progressive
Past
-
advertedsimple
-
had advertedperfect
-
was advertingprogressive
-
were advertingprogressive
-
had been advertingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of advert1
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English a(d)verten, from Old French a(d)vertir (with ad- replacing a- a- 5 ), from Latin advertere “to pay attention,” literally, “to turn toward,” from ad- ad- + vertere “to turn”
Origin of advert2
By shortening
Explanation
This one's easy. An advert is an advertisement: just shorten advertisement, and you get advert. As a verb, to advert to something means to refer to it. The noun advert (AD-vert) shows up mostly in England, where people use it interchangeably with advertisement, as in "Did you see that advert in the paper? If you buy two pairs of socks, you get a third pair free!" The verb advert (ad-VERT), on the other hand, means to "make reference to," like the way your mom might advert to your messy room and unfinished chores when you complain that you're bored.
Vocabulary lists containing advert
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Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
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Marbury v. Madison (1803)
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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:
The 66-year-old scanned a QR code on the advert, using an app he had downloaded.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
He was the cat in a Thompson Directory advert and made a series of spots for the DIY chain B&Q. He later described this aspect of his life as one of the most financially lucrative.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
He famously did an advert for Brut aftershave with British boxer Henry Cooper, as well as the "Green Cross Code" road safety campaign.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Under the slogan "We are unbearable," it launched an advert showing fans from different teams sitting in a therapy circle complaining about Argentines' unbridled passion for football.
From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026
But this was an advert to make you go to Malaysia on a holiday.
From "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon
At 37, Wang Zhuang had almost given up hope of finding a wife, until he saw the glossy matchmaking adverts.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Complaints regarding television and live streaming service adverts for the film were not upheld by the regulator, as Clearcast - which pre-approves TV and streaming ads - had applied a post-19:30 scheduling restriction.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Around 20 complainants had argued that those adverts glamorised violence and knife crime, but the watchdog ruled the imagery was highly stylised and clearly reflected the fictional nature of the film.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Danish pharmaceuticals heavyweight Novo Nordisk said Tuesday it is suing its arch US rival, Eli Lilly, over "false and materially misleading" adverts for their competing weight-loss and anti-diabetes treatments.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
We'd miss the adverts and Coming Soons, but a lady with a torch'd show us our seats for the film.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
On his person he bore the marks of these perils of the laboratory; but they were little heeded by him, and, when adverted to, always afforded him the occasion of some good-humoured pleasantry.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 17, 2015
I'm not certain how disaster can be adverted when an inferior service will cost more money.
From Economist ● Dec. 14, 2013
It was strange she never once adverted either to her mother’s illness, or her brother’s death, or the present gloomy state of the family prospects.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
In these latter are found reports of the bishops, who, either officially or by delegation, visited some monasteries and adverted to the law of enclosure as an important point of monastic discipline.
From Mellifont Abbey, Co. Louth Its Ruins and Associations, a Guide and Popular History by Anonymous
A point in this connexion, which involves some hardship to debenture-holders, may here be adverted to.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 10 "David, St" to "Demidov" by Various
The decline in ratings has put pressure on adverting dollars as well.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2026
Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the consortium, welcomed the delay on adverting rules as "one less distraction" for companies looking to focus on keeping prices down.
From BBC ● May 14, 2022
The human element in this example could have played multiple factors in adverting the breach or at the very least discovered it a lot sooner.
From Forbes ● Jan. 5, 2015
Much of this tracking is for adverting purposes: to collect data on you to show you more relevant ads.
From Slate ● Sep. 26, 2013
She had been most affected by the attentions of Madame Dumoulin, and felt great delight, in after years, in adverting to the subject.
From Lives of Celebrated Women by Samuel G. (Samuel Griswold) Goodrich
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.
