advertising
Americannoun
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the act or practice of calling public attention to one's product, service, need, etc., especially by paid announcements in newspapers and magazines, over radio or television, on billboards, etc..
to get more customers by advertising.
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paid announcements; advertisements.
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the profession of planning, designing, and writing advertisements.
noun
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the promotion of goods or services for sale through impersonal media, such as radio or television
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the business that specializes in creating such publicity
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advertisements collectively; publicity
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of advertising
Explanation
Advertising is the act of drawing the public’s attention to something, usually to sell it. Whatever is written on the sandwich board you're wearing is what you're advertising. Advertising is getting the word out — whether it’s on a billboard, in a magazine ad, on a commercial, on the side of a blimp, or by singing it from the highest mountaintop. If you want to let people know about a product, service, or candidate, you run an advertising campaign. The word advertising may also be used for the advertisements themselves or the business of creating advertisements.
Vocabulary lists containing advertising
Material World: Shopping Lingo
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"Ad Power," "Without Commercials," and "What's Wrong with Advertising"
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 7
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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.
All of them chronicled their holidays on social media, giving the Greek tourism industry a massive hit of free advertising.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
The advertising campaign for its new smart-access products around Amazon’s Prime Day in June was 10 times cheaper than a year earlier, in part because of AI tools, Zemmel said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The company also pointed to a boost from new businesses such as membership and advertising.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
The company has previously got into hot water with the UK advertising watchdog, which has banned some of its adverts for making "misleading" claims.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
It was a picture off a jigsaw puzzle, or perhaps a holiday brochure advertising a forgotten England.
From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz
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.
