Madison Avenue

American  

noun

1. a street in New York City that is a center of the advertising and public relations industries and that has become a symbol of their attitudes, methods, and practices.

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Madison Avenue British  

noun

1. a street in New York City: a centre of American advertising and public-relations firms and a symbol of their attitudes and methods

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Madison Avenue Cultural  

1. A street in Manhattan on which many advertising and public relations firms have offices.

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“Madison Avenue hype” carries the connotation of misrepresentation or deliberate dishonesty.

The name of the street is often used to refer to the high-pressure techniques of the advertising business.

Example Sentences

Madison Avenue Furs' Instagram features Cowit's niece posing on the shop's balcony in a variety of plush coats recalling "Sopranos"-esque fashion.

From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026

Business owners like Larry Cowit -- who inherited and runs his family's Madison Avenue Furs -- are celebrating a sales spike.

From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026

It also faced a steep rent hike at its Madison Avenue location.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

Last November, the auction house moved into the building, which was designed by the architect Marcel Breuer in the mid-1960s and sits on Madison Avenue and 75th Street.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

They have returned to their original position, half facing Madison Avenue and half facing Washington Street.

From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth