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:
He is looking at an advertisement for a nearby appliance-chain megastore.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
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
For a country seeking foreign investment, more than four years of war with its neighbour doesn't seem the best advertisement.
From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026
Instead he held up the newspaper and pointed to the torn page where the Mother Paula’s advertisement had been.
From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen
Each half of the game features a “hydration break” created to hydrate the allegedly parched athletes and add a few more Michelob Ultra advertisements to the telecast.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 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
“The online advertisements are very tempting,” said Rudri Patel, a certified financial-health counselor at MoneyLion.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
The main criticism is they feel it is the game getting further commercialised, with a number of broadcasters taking the opportunity to show advertisements during breaks.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
The sharpest of all were the big-time Harlem gamblers in white dinner jackets, elegantly stepping with glittering women who looked as though they posed for the advertisements in Ebony magazine.
From "The Contender" by Robert Lipsyte
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.
