advocate
Americanverb (used with object)
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advocates,
present (3rd person singular)
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advocated,
past participle, past
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advocating
present participle
verb (used without object)
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advocates,
present (3rd person singular)
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advocated,
past participle, past
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advocating
present participle
noun
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advocates
plural
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a person who speaks or writes in support or defense of a person, cause, etc. (usually followed byof ).
an advocate of peace.
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a person who pleads for or in behalf of another; intercessor.
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a person who pleads the cause of another in a court of law.
verb
noun
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a person who upholds or defends a cause; supporter
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a person who intercedes on behalf of another
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a person who pleads his client's cause in a court of law See also barrister solicitor counsellor
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Scots law the usual word for barrister
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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advocatornoun
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nonadvocatenoun
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preadvocatenoun
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subadvocatenoun
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preadvocateverb (used with object)
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readvocateverb (used with object)
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advocativeadjective
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advocatoryadjective
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unadvocatedadjective
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well-advocatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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advocatesimple
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advocatessimple
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have advocatedperfect
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has advocatedperfect
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am advocatingprogressive
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are advocatingprogressive
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is advocatingprogressive
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have been advocatingperfect progressive
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has been advocatingperfect progressive
Past
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advocatedsimple
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had advocatedperfect
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was advocatingprogressive
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were advocatingprogressive
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had been advocatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of advocate
First recorded in 1300–50; from Latin advocātus “legal counselor,” originally past participle of advocāre “to call to one's aid,” equivalent to ad- ad- + vocāre “to call” (akin to vōx voice ); replacing Middle English avocat, from Middle French
Explanation
An advocate (AD-və-kit) is someone who supports a cause, like an advocate for outdoor recess. Advocate (AD-və-kate) is also a verb meaning to speak in favor of, so you can advocate for that outdoor recess by urging your school to play outside! As a noun, an advocate is a person who represents another person’s interests, like a lawyer does. In fact, the word comes from the courtroom — it’s from Latin advocare, to “add” a “voice.” To advocate is to add a voice of support to a cause or person. An advocate is anyone who adds that voice by representing another person in court, or by supporting or working toward a particular course of action.
Vocabulary lists containing advocate
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 1
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300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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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:
It’s a “collaborative, modern, and holistic approach” that will effectively protect and restore the Bay-Delta ecosystem, said Stephen Pang, state relations advocate for the Assn. of California Water Agencies, which represents about 470 public agencies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
However, the defence advocate said it appeared there was "no mention at all about being told to stay out of the room" by Dott.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough and prominent advocate for the policy, called it a "huge win for the disabled community" and a "culmination of two years of campaigning".
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
"This is the most heinous attack on an American national park in generations," said Laiken Jordahl, a national public lands advocate at the center.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
Of course an expert, whether a women’s health advocate or a political advisor or an advertising executive, tends to have different incentives than the rest of us.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
"We have used Harvest in our three companies for at least 15 years and have been loyal and enthusiastic advocates of it," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Environmental advocates counter that additional fossil fuel production can encourage more consumption and delay the energy transition.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
He and other environmental advocates say the voluntary deals struck by major water agencies would be disastrous for threatened and endangered fish, including salmon, steelhead, green sturgeon, longfin smelt and Delta smelt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
Since picking future Nvidias is so hard, efficient market advocates advise just owning them all while paying as little as possible.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
I hope other scholars and advocates will pick up where the book leaves off and develop the critique more fully or apply the themes sketched here to other groups and other contexts.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
During a 2015 interview on “Live With Kelly and Michael,” Panettiere revealed why she understood Juliette’s struggles, and advocated for more discussion about postpartum depression.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Now 84, Sanders has advocated for universal healthcare since the 1970s while watching Americans fall deeper into medical debt.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
Lurie has advocated for fixes to the ingredient rules and he said the new proposed rule was in effect “voluntary.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Until his victim’s sister read his apology letter, visited him, and advocated for his release, he told me, “I used to worry about that all the time.”
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
As Martin J. S. Rudwick puts it, "No geologist of any nationality whose work was taken seriously by other geologists advocated a timescale confined within the limits of a literalistic exegesis of Genesis."
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
With Ahmad largely sidelined in the U.S., though still advocating for the Palestinian people, Sidhwa ultimately becomes “American Doctor’s” most striking figure.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
On the whole, this looks to be a positive inflection point in our political leadership, empowering a new generation of leaders advocating needed changes in the government’s relationship with its constituents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
His policy platform often lampoons mainstream politics while drawing on genuine public anger and frustrations, and advocating in support of democracy.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
They join a prominent wave of artists around the world who have been advocating the same.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
This chapter focuses on the decades-long dispute over when human beings first came to the Americas—an argument that seemingly has been won by those advocating a more ancient date.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
