1 of 7

noun (1)

ˈad

often attributive

Synonyms of ad next

: advertisement sense 1

newspapers ads

TV ads for new cars

: advertising

an ad agency

2 of 7

abbreviation (1)

active duty

after date

airworthiness directive

Alzheimer's disease

anno Domini

—often printed in small capitals and often punctuated

assembly district

assistant director

athletic director

right ear

—used especially in audiology and in writing medical prescriptions

A/D

4 of 7

prefix

variants or ac- or af- or ag- or al- or ap- or as- or at-

: to : toward

—usually ac- before c, k, or q

acculturation

and af- before f

affluent

and ag- before g

aggradation

and al- before l

alliteration

and ap- before p

apportion

and as- before s

assuasive

and at- before t

attune

and ad- before other sounds but sometimes ad- even before one of the listed consonants

adsorb

: near : adjacent to

—in this sense always in the form ad-

adrenal

-ad

6 of 7

adverb suffix

: in the direction of : toward

cephalad

-ad

7 of 7

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The first video will release March 20 (which is the UN International Day of Happiness), with a teaser ad being released today. —

Ingrid Schmidt, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Mar. 2023 Hucker even got that classic attack ad treatment: a photo of him frozen in black and white. —

John Kelly, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2023 The conundrum of that ad wasn’t lost on the author Rona Jaffe. —

Apoorva Tadepalli, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2023 Pay the going ad rate like everybody else, Mickey Mouse. Credit: Rob Latour/Shutterstock High: The good mule Justice for Jenny! —

Devan Coggan And Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 13 Mar. 2023 The city worked with the stadium and Swift's tour publicist to get the OK to use her ad/collage image on the new symbolic name city sign. —

Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 13 Mar. 2023 The minor requires appointment of a guardian ad litem to represent her interests in the proceeding. —

Nicholas Rice, Peoplemag, 12 Mar. 2023 The film goes a step further and has these pregnant teenagers take on the fictional role of Ramona enacting and ad-libbing scenes from the scripts. —

Al Topich, Arkansas Online, 10 Mar. 2023 An anti-DeSantis ad also aired this week in Pennsylvania, Michigan and other states. —

Steven Lemongello, Orlando Sentinel, 10 Mar. 2023 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ad.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

by shortening

Noun (2)

by shortening

Prefix

borrowed from Latin, prefix forming verbs and verbal derivatives, marking movement toward, tendency, addition, from ad, preposition, "to, as far as, at, near, in accordance with" — more at at entry 1

Adverb suffix

borrowed from Latin ad "to, toward" — more at at entry 1

Noun suffix

borrowed from New Latin -ad-, -as, borrowed from Greek -ad-, -as, feminine noun suffix denoting descent from or connection with

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1799, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1915, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of ad was in 1799

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Ad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ad. Accessed 28 Mar. 2023.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

1 of 2 noun

ˈad

: advertisement sense 2

ad-

2 of 2 prefix

variants or ac- or af- or ag- or al- or ap- or as- or at-

: to : toward

—usually ac- before c, k, or q and af- before f and ag- before g and al- before l and ap- before p and as- before s and at- before t and ad- before other sounds but sometimes ad- even before one of the listed consonants

Etymology

Prefix

Latin ad- "to, toward"