promoter

American  

[pruh-moh-ter] / prəˈmoʊ tər /

noun

• promoters
  plural

1. a person or thing that promotes, furthers, or encourages.

2. a person who initiates or takes part in the organizing of a company, development of a project, etc.

3. a person who organizes and provides financial backing for a sporting event or entertainment.

4. Chemistry. any substance that in small amounts is capable of increasing the activity of a catalyst.

5. Also called collector. Metallurgy. a water-repellent reagent enhancing the ability of certain ores to float so that they can be extracted by the flotation process.

6. Genetics.

   1. a site on a DNA molecule at which RNA polymerase binds and initiates transcription.

   2. a gene sequence that activates transcription.

7. Obsolete. an informer.

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promoter British  

/ prəˈməʊtə /

noun

1. a person or thing that promotes

2. a person who helps to organize, develop, or finance an undertaking

3. a person who organizes and finances a sporting event, esp a boxing match

4. chem a substance added in small amounts to a catalyst to increase its activity

5. genetics a sequence of nucleotides, associated with a structural gene, that must bind with messenger RNA polymerase before transcription can proceed

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promoter Scientific  

/ prə-mō′tər /

1. The region of an operon that acts as the initial binding site for RNA polymerase.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• self-promoter
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• promoters
  plural

Etymology

Origin of promoter

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English; promote + -er ¹; replacing earlier promotour, from Anglo-French

Explanation

If you’ve been trying to get anyone and everyone to go see your friend’s band perform, then you could call yourself a promoter of that band. A promoter is a supporter, advocate, or booster for a person, group, or event. A promoter is an active supporter of something. A promoter of democracy, for example, is someone who tries to spread democracy throughout the world. Being a promoter is also a profession; one might be hired to make arrangements and generate publicity for some form of public entertainment, like a boxing match or a concert. Perhaps if you tell enough people about your friend's band, the band will hire you as its official promoter.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

promoter promoters

Several marvelous larger-than-life photographs of her—O’Keeffe’s fame has always been amplified by images of her striking appearance, many taken by her husband and foremost promoter, Alfred Stieglitz—add panache.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

HBO brought on club promoter and music broadcaster Boiler Room because of its deep roots in nightlife culture and music.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

The central role of the promoter — and the lack of genuine athletic competition in matches — puts wrestlers and management on remarkably unequal footing.

From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026

Sheeran early on said that the decision to drop Macklemore from his tour was made by concert promoter Messina Touring Group.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

But above all, Brougham was a masterful promoter.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

But they didn’t free people from domestic labor or deliver the prosperity and security heralded by their promoters.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

IHH says it isn’t subject to financial claims in the dispute involving Daiichi Sankyo and former Fortis promoters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

BBC Newsbeat has approached Marilyn Manson's representatives and gig promoters Live Nation UK for a response.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

But for all that, the celebrity endorsements worked … at least for the currency promoters, and in many cases for the celebrities.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

Fair promoters wanted Seabiscuit to be an exhibit.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

Related Words

• advertiser
• advocate
• backer
• booster
• organizer
• publicist
• sponsor