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:
The consumption of dog and cat meat is legal in the country, where many restaurants openly advertise it on their menu.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 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
Roadside signs advertise firewood, free kittens and raw milk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
Hourly installation and maintenance jobs tied to data centers advertise pay about 42% higher than comparable roles elsewhere.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
Whenever Caroline has a brilliant idea, she always comes to me for posters to advertise it.
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
Poso’s owner, Long Beach-based California Resources Corp., advertises itself as “a carbon management company that develops emissions reducing projects.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
Conflict Armament was shown shipping documentation for the equipment detailed in July which identified a Chinese precision-metal producer that advertises itself as a specialist manufacturer of custom aerospace parts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
She was checking people in on the pier for a separate boat tour to Sazan on a replica galleon that advertises the opportunity to “be a pirate for a day.”
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
The resort advertises a program in which it leases units purchased by investors, but it declined to say if Paxton’s properties were enrolled in it.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
He would blame the change in his life on one job—a warehouse job, working for a large corporation which today advertises its products with the smiling faces of children.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
There is a growing expectation the team buses will be welcomed when they arrive and posters on social media have advertised a 'Bus Greeting' on Anfield Road.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
It also sweetened advertised salaries for new captains and first officers, according to its website.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
While the future imagined here made life easier, cleaner, more beautiful and more exciting, it did not arrive as advertised.
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
His father no longer, as he had once done, led great revival meetings, his name printed large on placards that advertised the coming of a man of God.
From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin
Facebook snarfs up your personal information so it can sell advertising to corporate customers paying to use the data for targeting their ads.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
In an effort to fill the gap, businesses have focused their advertising efforts on the domestic market.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
Meta’s core advertising business delivered a strong quarter, but investors are now eyeing promising new businesses around the Muse personal assistant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
It wants a public awareness campaign to warn about the dangers, along with a review to look at how better to regulate online advertising.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
I also offered to make lollipops to sit by registers advertising the festival—free with purchase.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
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