ad

1 of 7

noun (1)

ˈad 

1

: advertisement sense 1

newspaper ads

TV ads for new cars

2

: advertising

an ad agency

ad

2 of 7

noun (2)

plural ads

: the first point won in tennis after deuce : advantage sense 4

—often used before another noun

Federer had difficulty with his first serve, and Agassi finally broke him in the eighth game, though it took him four ad points to do it.

—Jeff Williams

AD

3 of 7

abbreviation (1)

1

active duty

2

after date

3

airworthiness directive

4

Alzheimer's disease

5

anno Domini

—often printed in small capitals and often punctuated

6

assembly district

7

assistant director

8

athletic director

9

right ear

—used especially in audiology and in writing medical prescriptions

A/D

4 of 7

abbreviation (2)

analog/digital

ad-

5 of 7

prefix

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

1

: 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

2

: 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

noun suffix

: member of a botanical group

bromeliad

Synonyms of ad

Noun (1)

• advertisement
• announcement

Examples of ad in a Sentence

Noun (1)

did you see the ads in the paper for cheap round-trip flights to Florida?

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Trump, in turn, highlighted the campaign ad in his own social media feeds. — Seung Min Kim, Arkansas Online, 2 Oct. 2026

The advertising campaign has drawn criticism from those on the Left and the Right, who chided the administration for using taxpayer dollars for ads that appear political in nature. — Lauren Green, The Washington Examiner, 1 Oct. 2026

Brands are making more on paper and keeping less in the bank, squeezed from every side by rising ad costs, tariffs and overhead. — David Born, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026

Eventually, the interior fell largely vacant and the exterior acquired a second skin of billboards, effectively converting it into a scaffolding for ads. — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 1 Oct. 2026

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

Phrases Containing ad

• ad agency
• ad blocker
• ad eundem
• ad eundem gradum
• ad feminam
• ad hoc
• ad hominem
• ad infinitum
• ad int
• ad interim
• ad lib
• ad libitum
• ad loc
• ad nauseam
• ad rem
• ad server
• ad val
• ad valorem
• ad verbum
• banner ad
• habeas corpus ad subjiciendum
• personal ad
• reductio ad absurdum
• small ad
• subpoena ad testificandum
• terminus ad quem
• want ad

Rhymes for ad

• add
• bad
• brad
• cad
• clad
• dad
• fad
• gad
• glad
• grad
• had
• lad

Kids Definition

ad

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"

Medical Definition

AD

abbreviation

1

Alzheimer disease; Alzheimer's disease

2

atopic dermatitis

3

[Latin auris dextra] right ear

—used especially in audiology and in writing medical prescriptions

4

average deviation