ad blocker

noun

variants or less commonly adblocker

ˈad-ˌblä-kər 

or ad-blocker

plural ad blockers also adblockers or ad-blockers

: a software application or feature designed to prevent advertisements from loading on a web browser (see browser sense 2)

Before I get too far, I suppose it fair to mention what an ad blocker is. It is a browser add-on that filters the response from a web server, removing items that it thinks are advertisements before the browser starts to render the page.

—Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, Iowa)

The built-in ad blocker wipes out annoying ads, which can improve your browsing speed and limit distractions at work.

—cultofmac.com

We all know that ads can be quite annoying, popping up on every website and tracking our use across them all. Some may even infect your computer with damaging viruses that are difficult to remove, so we deem it best to install an ad blocker.

—Tayo Sogbesan

The catch these days with ad-blockers is that because many mainstream sites … incorporate pop-up ads as a means of earning revenue …, they often require you to disable your ad-blocker on them (or suggest that you do) to allow those ads to display …

—Eyal Goldshmid

The only problem … is the pop-up … ads. An adblocker may be able to do the job.

—Ali Bajwa

Examples of ad blocker in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The ad blocker visibly did its job, removing inline ads, popup ads, slide-in ads, and more. —PCMAG, 27 Mar. 2024

The company previously has been showing pop-up messages saying ad blockers violate YouTube terms of service. —Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 15 Jan. 2024

YouTube has used all sorts of tactics to get people to turn off ad blockers and subscribe to YouTube Premium. —Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 15 Jan. 2024

However ad blockers and privacy experts have criticized how the system works and, in particular, changes to the Declarative Net Request API. —Matt Burgess, WIRED, 25 Nov. 2023

Ad-free streaming services like Netflix were booming and ad blockers for the web were thriving. —Suzanne Vranica, WSJ, 28 Nov. 2023

In recent months, the company has been cracking down on ad blockers on YouTube in a big way. —Matt Burgess, WIRED, 25 Nov. 2023

Further Reading YouTube’s ad blocker crackdown escalates, aggravating users Google's sales pitch for Manifest V3 is that, by limiting extensions, the browser can be lighter on resources, and Google can protect your privacy from extension developers. —Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 21 Nov. 2023

Hanff isn’t the only advocate who opposes YouTube’s ad blocker clampdown, either. —Emma Roth, The Verge, 7 Nov. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1996, in the meaning defined above