- present participle of advertise.
advertising
Americannoun
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the act or practice of calling public attention to one's product, service, need, etc., especially by paid announcements in newspapers and magazines, over radio or television, on billboards, etc..
to get more customers by advertising.
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paid announcements; advertisements.
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the profession of planning, designing, and writing advertisements.
noun
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the promotion of goods or services for sale through impersonal media, such as radio or television
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the business that specializes in creating such publicity
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advertisements collectively; publicity
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of advertising
Explanation
Advertising is the act of drawing the public’s attention to something, usually to sell it. Whatever is written on the sandwich board you're wearing is what you're advertising. Advertising is getting the word out — whether it’s on a billboard, in a magazine ad, on a commercial, on the side of a blimp, or by singing it from the highest mountaintop. If you want to let people know about a product, service, or candidate, you run an advertising campaign. The word advertising may also be used for the advertisements themselves or the business of creating advertisements.
Vocabulary lists containing advertising
Material World: Shopping Lingo
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"Ad Power," "Without Commercials," and "What's Wrong with Advertising"
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 7
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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.
They began advertising the product by posting links in Reddit threads and buying ads on Instagram.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
The Paris-based advertising group said Tuesday that organic net revenue grew 5% in the third quarter, an acceleration from the growth rate of 4.8% it reported for the prior quarter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
She said she would not be advertising the roles if they were not necessary.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Sebastian added that Instagram and Facebook could benefit from new user experiences as well as better ad recommendations — though Meta emphasized that personal Muse conversations will not be shared directly with its advertising systems.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
Posters have been up for days advertising it, and each time I saw one, I wanted to tear it down.
From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée
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.
