promote
Americanverb (used with object)
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promotes,
present (3rd person singular)
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promoted,
past participle, past
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promoting
present participle
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to help or encourage to exist or flourish; further.
to promote world peace.
- Antonyms:
- obstruct, discourage
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to advance in rank, dignity, position, etc. (opposed to demote).
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Education. to put ahead to the next higher stage or grade of a course or series of classes.
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to aid in organizing (business undertakings).
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to encourage the sales, acceptance, etc., of (a product), especially through advertising or other publicity.
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Informal. to obtain (something) by cunning or trickery; wangle.
verb
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to further or encourage the progress or existence of
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to raise to a higher rank, status, degree, etc
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to advance (a pupil or student) to a higher course, class, etc
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to urge the adoption of; work for
to promote reform
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to encourage the sale of (a product) by advertising or securing financial support
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chess to exchange (a pawn) for any piece other than a king when the pawn reaches the 8th rank
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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promotabilitynoun
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promotionnoun
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prepromoteverb (used with object)
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promotableadjective
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promotionaladjective
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self-promotingadjective
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unpromotableadjective
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unpromotedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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promotesimple
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promotessimple
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have promotedperfect
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has promotedperfect
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am promotingprogressive
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are promotingprogressive
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is promotingprogressive
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have been promotingperfect progressive
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has been promotingperfect progressive
Past
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promotedsimple
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had promotedperfect
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was promotingprogressive
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were promotingprogressive
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had been promotingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of promote
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English promoten, from Latin prōmōtus, past participle of prōmovēre “to move forward, advance”; see pro- 1, motive
Explanation
If you work for a marketing firm, your job is to promote new products — to publicize them and to try to get the public to buy them. The verb promote can also mean to advance to a higher position. Because of your hard work, your boss might decide to promote you. In school, passing students are promoted each year when they enter a higher grade. In chess, the verb promote is used when a pawn is exchanged for a higher ranking piece. Make sure you promote your pawn to a queen, giving you two queens on the board and a strong advantage in the game.
Vocabulary lists containing promote
Preamble to the U.S. Constitution (1787)
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Words for Father's Day: What Fathers Do
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Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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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:
El Nino, a natural climate pattern when sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean become unusually warm, tends to promote hurricane activity in the Pacific while suppressing it in the Atlantic.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
I’m referring to how our moods sour as summer comes to an end and coffee chains promote the gourd-flavored beverages.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
He strolled San Francisco’s streets with them to promote his caged menagerie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
If researchers eventually learn how to selectively activate these repair mechanisms, they may be able to promote more effective restoration of damaged brain tissue, rebuild astrocyte networks, and improve recovery from certain brain disorders.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
Now, too late, they'll attempt to promote liver spots as the season's most sophisticated accessory.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
Yousef, whose community strongly promotes gender equality, said she also wants to work on "defending women's rights and enshrining them in the country's constitution".
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
Ember, which promotes renewable energy, takes its data from the EIA’s monthly power reports.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Taco Bell regularly promotes its “Tuesday Drops,” and the latest deals have outperformed previous ones, Turner said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Among the priority areas Kratsios promotes for this new funding model are AI, quantum computing and robotics.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
Trey thinks social media promotes insecurity and doesn’t use it much.
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
The French government had promoted the ban as a way to better protect young people from the harmful effects associated with social media platforms, including anxiety, depression, sleep disorders and online harassment.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
A home game against promoted Hull in gameweek four shows potential.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
However, there is precedent for a promoted side that had a first season as good as Sunderland's to be relegated in their second.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Castro promoted guerrilla movements throughout Latin America and leveraged his alliance with the Soviet Union to send tens of thousands of Cuban soldiers into Africa.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Toward the end of 2005, Cassano promoted Al Frost, then went looking for someone to replace him as the ambassador to Wall Street’s bond trading desks.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
She also publicly came out as bisexual while promoting the book.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
Russia and China have also moved closer, with their navies and air forces conducting joint exercises in areas around Japan, promoting frequent scrambles by Japanese jets.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
Spotify said it will start labeling AI-generated artists and avoid promoting them in its algorithmic recommendations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
The billboard and the man inside it were promoting “The Last House,” a Netflix film that premiered on the streaming platform on Friday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
“Why do we feel that promoting marriage will solve the problem when there are so few marriageable men?” asked William Julius Wilson, professor of sociology and social policy at Harvard.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
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.
