advocacy
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of advocacy
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English advocacye, from Medieval Latin advocātia; see advocate, -acy
Explanation
When you give your active support to an idea or cause, you are showing your advocacy for that cause. Your advocacy for an animal rights group might help raise money to save stray pups. The noun advocacy comes to English from a term used in Roman law. An advocate was a professional whose job was to plead cases in front of a court of law. That meaning led to the verb form advocate, as well as advocacy, to describe the work of an advocate. "The lunchroom staff were advocates for healthier school lunches; their advocacy was supported by parents and the school board; however, the students were reluctant to give up their cookies and chips."
Vocabulary lists containing advocacy
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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:
These launches, conducted from a Texas base near protected natural areas, have drawn sharp criticism from advocacy groups in recent years.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
For some brands, advocacy programs allow them to gain control of an online behavior taking place organically.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
James Gray, communications and advocacy manager at Libraries Connected, says the summer holidays are also where libraries "come alive".
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
“This bill forces Californians to choose between their privacy and affordable auto insurance,” said Carmen Balber, executive director of Los Angeles advocacy group Consumer Watchdog.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
It became, arguably, the most powerful, and effective public safety advocacy group in the country.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Her advocacies center on defending human rights and empowering the poor partly by teaching them their legal rights.
From Seattle Times ● May 7, 2022
"She's someone that they can really look up look up to with her advocacies and how she carries herself - she really encapsulates that ethos of inclusivity."
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2021
Nine other organizations, including the local American Civil Liberties Union chapter, gay rights groups and immigrant advocacies, supported the complaint.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 26, 2016
If nobody compromises, then the result is multiple pure advocacies that result in nothing.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 17, 2015
Go to the bottom of all those clever advocacies for unity of Church and State, and you will meet, as their primus motor, the worm of comfort and human inertia.
From The Agony of the Church (1917) by Velimirović, Nikolai
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.
