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advert

verb ad·vert \ ad-ˈvərt \

|Updated on: 8 Jun 2018

Examples: advert in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of advert

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

See advert defined for kids

advert was our Word of the Day on 07/01/2010. Hear the podcast!

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Recent Examples of advert from the Web

Digital-only advertising, however, was up nearly 10 percent in 2017, largely offsetting the impact of the softening print adverting declines on total digital advertising.

— mark glover, sacbee, "McClatchy boosts digital audience, advertising revenue in 2017 | The Sacramento Bee," 16 Feb. 2018
Donations also go toward adverting campaigns like radio ads to help get the word out about their mission needs.

— birmingham magazine, AL.com, "Jimmie Hale Mission nears 75th year serving Birmingham," 19 Dec. 2017
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, "Review: ‘Bubbly Black Girl’ Lets a Smile Be Her Camouflage," 27 July 2017

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

Did You Know?

You may be familiar with the noun "advert," which is used, especially in British sources, as a shortened form of "advertising." 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."

Origin and Etymology of advert

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 ¹worth

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

2

advert

noun ad·vert \ ˈad-ˌvərt \

Definition of advert

chiefly British

: advertisement

See advert defined for English-language learners

Examples of advert in a Sentence

I saw your advert in the newspaper.
busily perusing the job adverts in the Sunday Times

Recent Examples of advert from the Web

At the airport, passengers underwent obligatory temperature screenings, while Congo’s public-health ministry ran radio adverts telling people in Mbandaka to not shake hands, relief officials said.

— nicholas bariyo, WSJ, "Ebola Vaccination Begins in Democratic Republic of Congo," 21 May 2018
Still, this is not an advert for the superiority of the English.

— CBS News, "America and England, separated by a common language," 13 May 2018
After 150 years the trust is now one of the better adverts for active management.

— The Economist, "A Victorian survivor in fund management," 18 Apr. 2018
Pepsi stars including Lionel Messi and Toni Kroos have appeared in a brilliant new advert featuring a street paint-football fight.

— SI.com, "VIDEO: Pepsi Stars Including Lionel Messi and Toni Kroos Paint the World Blue in Stunning New Advert," 6 Mar. 2018
Cars are worldwide road-going adverts for the national brand.

— The Economist, "Last lap of luxuryGerman cars have the most to lose from changes facing the auto industry," 1 Mar. 2018
Ducey, meanwhile, helped Uber deal with other officials in Arizona, issued decrees that were friendly to the company, tweeted out an advert at the company’s request, and even seems to have been open to wearing an Uber T-shirt at an official event.

— andrew j. hawkins, The Verge, "Uber scaled back the number of sensors on its self-driving cars: report," 28 Mar. 2018
Sales of goods accounted for just under half of wanghong earnings of 53bn yuan ($8bn) in 2016, estimates Analysys, a Chinese market-research firm (the rest came mostly from live-show tips and adverts).

— The Economist, "Online starlets are refashioning Chinese e-commerce," 15 Mar. 2018
Snapchat has issued an apology to Rihanna after removing an advert that made light of domestic abuse.

— sydney scott, Essence.com, "The Quick Read: Snapchat Apologizes To Rihanna Over Domestic Abuse Ad," 15 Mar. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of advert

by shortening

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1814

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Learn More about advert

See words that rhyme with advert Nglish: Translation of advert for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of advert for Arabic speakers

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BROWSE DICTIONARY

adversity

adversive

advert

advertainment

advertence

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