advert

1 of 2

verb

ad·​vert ad-ˈvərt 

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 

chiefly British

: advertisement

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.

Synonyms

Verb

• cite
• drop
• instance
• mention
• name
• note
• notice
• quote
• refer (to)
• specify
• touch (on or upon)

Noun

• ad
• advertisement
• announcement
• bulletin
• communiqué
• notice
• notification
• posting
• release

Examples of advert in a Sentence

Verb

when our hosts adverted to the lateness of the hour we took the hint, and prepared to leave

Noun

I saw your advert in the newspaper.

busily perusing the job adverts in the Sunday Times

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Patients on these weight loss drugs are advised to boost their protein consumption in order to advert muscle loss. —Christina Cheddar Berk, CNBC, 8 Sep. 2024

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

Noun

Carlos Alcaraz is certainly a good advert for the power of R and R in Ibiza. —Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025

Inter’s thrilling 7-6 aggregate win against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals over the past week or so was a perfect advert for football. —Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 14 May 2025

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

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Kids Definition

advert

verb

ad·​vert

ad-ˈvərt

: to make a reference : refer