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:
Aiming to escape the rat race and find opportunities for work in a bleak job market, the founders use artificial intelligence to code, communicate with customers and promote their products.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
Dubin, co-founder of National Drive Electric Week, said 170 volunteer-led events were being held nationwide over the next month to promote EVs, and she was leading one Friday in Irvine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
The Starbucks items featuring the “Peanuts” characters — known for animated classics like “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” — were intended to promote the return of Starbucks’s pumpkin-spice latte.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
They reported, “In most countries, majorities say the United States does not promote peace and stability around the world and does not take other countries’ interests into account on matters of international policy.”
From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2026
In a furious squabble of accusation and recrimination he would demote officers and promote the most unlikely soldiers from the ranks.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
It is the deal that counts, not the values it promotes or undermines.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026
Customers complained the line from the Ayn Rand book “Atlas Shrugged,” which promotes self-interest, was contradictory to the inclusive teachings of yoga.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Optimism abounds, even on the city website, which promotes it as “one of the fastest growing suburbs of the San Francisco Bay Area.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
Trump, a former real estate magnate who promotes family enterprises at every opportunity, told Martin that Doonbeg was "one of the greatest courses in the world".
From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026
What is it that promotes an invention’s acceptance by a society?
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
In 2006, I was promoted to work on the Barbie collector line, and I worked on Cher Barbie dolls under Bob’s direction in 2007.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
With Stoke, we got a win in our first home game - against Aston Villa - but that was our only victory in our first seven league matches after getting promoted.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
“You do have individual contributors who got promoted to manager and have no idea how to actually manage, and are absolutely slowing things down and causing problems,” Butterworth says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
They will be promoted on social media and television by washed-up athletes and unscrupulous influencers paid well for their perfidy.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
He had gotten promoted to detective at work, so he didn’t have to wear his regular police uniform like he used to.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
Two ads promoting Converse’s global Chuck 70 X campaign came under fire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
“When it comes to their work in Russia,” she said, “many think that they are helping Russia and promoting the friendship between the two nations.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
However, he appears to have played a leading role in promoting and running the enterprise, which is also in his name.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
Cyclones may carry warmer air into the region, promoting melting from above.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
Most of them involved an expert, or a gang of experts, promoting false information or hiding true information; in each case the experts were trying to keep the information asymmetry as asymmetrical as possible.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
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.
