advert

1 of 2

verb

ad·​vert ad-ˈvərt How to pronounce advert (audio)
adverted; adverting; adverts

intransitive verb

1
: to turn the mind or attention
used with to
adverted to the speaker
2
: to call attention in the course of speaking or writing : make reference
used with to
adverted to foreign-language sources

advert

2 of 2

noun

ad·​vert ˈad-ˌvərt How to pronounce advert (audio)
chiefly British

Did you know?

You may be familiar with the noun advert, which is used, especially in British sources, as a shortened form of advertisement. That's one way to use advert, but it has also been used as a verb in English since the 15th century. There's a hint about the origin of the verb in the idea of "turning" the mind or attention to something; the word derives via Anglo-French from the Latin verb advertere, which in turn comes from Latin vertere, meaning "to turn." Vertere is the ancestor of a number of words in English, including controversy, divert, invert, revert, and even versatile. In addition, we'd like to turn your attention to one particular vertere descendant: avert, meaning "to avoid." Be careful to avoid mixing this one up with advert.

Examples of advert in a Sentence

Noun I saw your advert in the newspaper. busily perusing the job adverts in the Sunday Times
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
While the Village’s official range for the position is anywhere from $105,000 to $157,000, the Village is adverting a new hire’s annual salary at $137,000 for finance director and $3,000 for treasurer. Hank Beckman, Chicago Tribune, 14 June 2023 Yet to advert to rules of tonal consistency is to impose an external, puristic point of view on material that is wonderfully motley and personal. Jesse Green, New York Times, 27 July 2017
Noun
While at the same time, U.S. employers have been shifting their focus from degrees to skills—with job adverts that don't require degrees increasing by 90% in the U.K. in 2023. Dina Mattar, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 The adverts led to a recruitment website for troops joining in the Sakhalin region, located in Russia’s Far East, according to Reuters. Byeleanor Pringle, Fortune, 4 Aug. 2023 Over 100 million Americans watched the advert, and Verizon paid Bey a whopping $30 million to appear in it. Goldie Chan, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024 This style of advert also highlights a broader issue, suggested Khan in The Guardian. Richard Windsor, theweek, 11 Jan. 2024 The adverts imply that the Kremlin is also running out of manpower. Byeleanor Pringle, Fortune, 4 Aug. 2023 There are no imminent plans to introduce a cheaper tier with adverts (AVOD is more profitable for streamers with critical mass, Sakaan points out). K.j. Yossman, Variety, 30 Nov. 2023 Swiping on his phone, there’s a news video, then a woman pops up selling something, followed by news, news, news, then an advert for dates from Xinjiang. Lavender Au, WIRED, 25 Nov. 2023 Ah, Christmas in London… the John Lewis Christmas advert, Tesco’s stuffing sandwich meal deals and—more importantly—the sweet sounds of Mariah Carey are some telltale signs the festive season has officially begun. Connor Sturges, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'advert.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English averten, adverten "to notice, think of, consider, be heedful," borrowed from Anglo-French avertir, advertir "to notify, (reflexive) recognize, be mindful of," going back to Vulgar Latin *advertīre, alteration (by conjugational shift) of Latin advertere "to turn or direct toward, direct (attention) toward, pay heed (to), attract the attention of," from ad- ad- + vertere "to turn" — more at worth entry 4

Noun

by shortening

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1814, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of advert was in the 15th century

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Dictionary Entries Near advert

Cite this Entry

“Advert.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/advert. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

advert

verb
ad·​vert
ad-ˈvərt
: to make a reference : refer

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