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
As it turned out, Mexico and the U.S. were already out of World Cup competition, and “Art of the Goal” came across as an eight-minute advertisement for the L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 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
I scroll and scroll forever to find anything that isn’t an advertisement.
From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez
But even the leading brand of America’s favorite sauce didn’t expect to be rushing advertisements onto billboards and taxis, deploying 60,000 packets to World Cup stadiums or scrambling a response to an urgent TSA warning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
“The online advertisements are very tempting,” said Rudri Patel, a certified financial-health counselor at MoneyLion.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
Charles and Caroline mourn their part in that displacement; they set out for Kansas with the best of intentions, lured by false advertisements of “free” land that never was.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026
The French government has argued that it is relying on similar principles that underline regulations on advertisements for alcohol or cigarettes, said Violland.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
He turned back to the advertisements, for they were the things that interested him in magazines.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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.
