banner

[ban-er]

noun

1. the flag of a country, army, troop, etc.

2. an ensign or the like bearing some device, motto, or slogan, as one carried in religious processions, political demonstrations, etc.

3. a flag formerly used as the standard of a sovereign, lord, or knight.

4. a sign painted on cloth and hung over a street, entrance, etc..

   Banners at the intersection announced the tennis tournament.

5. anything regarded or displayed as a symbol of principles.

6. Heraldry.,  a square flag bearing heraldic devices.

7. Also called line, screamer, streamer. Also called banner line,. Journalism.,  a headline extending across the width of a newspaper page, usually across the top of the front page.

8. an open streamer with lettering, towed behind an airplane in flight, for advertising purposes.

9. Also called banner ad. an advertisement that appears across the top or bottom or along one side of a web page.

adjective

1. leading or foremost.

   a banner year for crops.

   Synonyms: vintage, red-letter, winning, record, notable

banner

/ ˈbænə /

noun

1. a long strip of flexible material displaying a slogan, advertisement, etc, esp one suspended between two points

2. a placard or sign carried in a procession or demonstration

3. something that represents a belief or principle

   a commitment to nationalization was the banner of British socialism

4. the flag of a nation, army, etc, used as a standard or ensign

5. (formerly) the standard of an emperor, knight, etc

6. Also called: banner headline. a large headline in a newspaper, etc, extending across the page, esp the front page

7. an advertisement, often animated, that extends across the width of a web page

8. a square flag, often charged with the arms of its bearer

verb

1. (tr) (of a newspaper headline) to display (a story) prominently

adjective

1. outstandingly successful

   a banner year for orders

Other Word Forms

• bannered adjective
• bannerless adjective
• bannerlike adjective
• unbannered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of banner¹

1200–50; Middle English banere < Old French baniere < Late Latin bann ( um ) (variant of bandum standard < Germanic, compare Gothic bandwa sign; band ¹ ) + Old French -iere < Latin -āria -ary

Word History and Origins

Origin of banner¹

C13: from Old French baniere , of Germanic origin; compare Gothic bandwa sign; influenced by Medieval Latin bannum _ban ¹ , bannīre to _banish

Example Sentences

“Democrats have shut down the government. Department of Justice websites are not currently regularly updated,” reads a banner across the top of the Justice Department’s website.

Read more on Salon

Four EA-owned studios have been working on the game under the Battlefield Studios banner.

Read more on BBC

But when prices soared in 2022, Occidental was sitting on prime oil territory and reaped banner profits that helped it cut its total debt by billions of dollars.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Detroit carmakers are picking up the banner and touting plans to keep selling big, gas-powered vehicles for the foreseeable future.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The same banner went on to quote a white supremacist slogan known as the 14 Words: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children."

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• emblem 
• headline 
• pennant 
• streamer