Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

Advent

play
noun Ad·vent \ˈad-ˌvent, chiefly British -vənt\

Definition of Advent

  1. 1 :  the period beginning four Sundays before Christmas and observed by some Christians as a season of prayer and fasting

  2. 2a :  the coming of Christ at the Incarnation (see incarnation 1a(2))b :  second coming

  3. 3 not capitalized :  a coming into being or use the advent of spring the advent of pasteurization the advent of personal computers

From the M-W Editors

alt-59760690a61d7
Trending: Trump Tweets, We Define: 'Beleaguered'
image386126722
Words That Come From the Dinner Table
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
emoji-the-quiz
The Emoji Quiz

Origin and Etymology of advent

Middle English, borrowed from Medieval Latin adventus, going back to Latin, “arrival, appearance,” from adven-, variant stem of advenīre “to arrive” (from ad- ad- + venīre “to come,” going back to Indo-European *gwem-i̯e-) + -tus, suffix of action nouns — more at 1come

Other Christian Religious Terms

Pentateuch, blasphemy, curate, doxology, eremite, iconoclasm, liturgy, orison, pneuma, reliquary

Learn More about advent

  1. See words that rhyme with Advent Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for Advent Spanish Central: Translation of Advent Nglish: Translation of Advent for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of Advent for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about Advent

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up Advent? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

haphazard

play

marked by lack of plan or order

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. beleaguer Being subjected to constant or repeated trouble or harassment

  2. scaramouch A new White House communications director

  3. non sequitur “It does not follow”

  4. admiral's mast A massive search ends with an 'admiral's mast'.

  5. calumny 'An untrue statement that is made to damage someone's reputation'

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-59721dd897313
The 'Best' Way to Sign Off On An E-mail

Give them your best

image386126722
Words and Phrases That Come from the Dinner Table

Fill your plate with these surprising food words

ghost-being-disinvited-from-party
'Disinvite' or 'Uninvite'?

A disinvited guest is an uninvited problem

alt-596f730ceb5ae
Words We're Watching: 'Scoby'

Kombucha lovers unite.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

emoji-the-quiz
The Emoji Quiz

Think you’re an emoji 👓 expert? Let’s see 🤔

Take the quiz
image941935269
A Game of Thrones Word Quiz

In the Game of Thrones quiz, you learn some new vocabulary. (It’s quite safe, really. You will not die.)

Take the quiz
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

Take the quiz
Word Winder's CrossWinder
Word Winder's CrossWinder

A game of winding words.

Play the game