Definition of ADVERTISEMENT

noun ad·ver·tise·ment \ ˌad-vər-ˈtīz-mənt ; əd-ˈvər-təz-mənt , -tə-smənt \

|Updated on: 8 Aug 2018

Examples: advertisement in a Sentence

Definition of advertisement

1 : a public notice; especially : one published in the press or broadcast over the air

a full-page advertisement for the movie

a TV advertisement

2 : the act or process of advertising something

The company has spent a lot of money on advertisement.

See advertisement defined for English-language learners

See advertisement defined for kids

Examples of advertisement in a Sentence

The advertisement will appear in three magazines.
He learned about the job from an advertisement in the newspaper.
The company has spent a lot of money on advertisement.

Recent Examples of advertisement from the Web

The demand for more transparency comes at a time when Congress is drafting the Honest Ads Act with the purpose of improving disclosure requirements for online political advertisements.

— bree tracey, Fox News, "How under-fire Facebook is bolstering its battle against fake news," 12 July 2018
One was a resolution repealing a prior approval and establishing a prohibition of posting signs, banners or other advertisements at Memorial Park.

— matt sanderson, latimes.com, "LCF City Council seeks feedback from Public Works on better regulating RV parking on streets," 10 July 2018
Google customers worldwide use the same Chrome browser, YouTube website or Android phone-operating system—and are served advertisements in much the same way.

— The Economist, "Chinese and US tech giants go at it in emerging markets," 5 July 2018
Facebook has been testing the new ad transparency features for an unspecific amount of time in Canada, said Rob Leathern, a Facebook director of product management on the advertisement team.

— jonathan vanian, Fortune, "These Are Facebook's Latest Plans to Make Online Ads 'More Transparent'," 28 June 2018
Campaigning for the volunteer positions that pay $100 has been low key, with few candidates able to afford to send out mailings, place advertisements or knock on doors.

— liz bowie, baltimoresun.com, "Baltimore County voters cast ballots in first school board election," 27 June 2018
Facebook first alerted publishers to its plan to lump advertisements bought by media organizations with those bought by political candidates into the same archive last month.

— naomi nix, Bloomberg.com, "Facebook Retools Political Ad Rules After Media Blowback," 27 June 2018
For inspiration, Sara is drawn to retro beauty advertisements of the 1950s.

— nadja sayej, Teen Vogue, "Artist Sara Cwynar on Perceptions of Beauty," 26 June 2018
But the advertisement was for the Trump Hotel Collection, promoting the hotel chains reservation line.

— jon campbell, USA TODAY, "Five takeaways from New York's Trump Foundation lawsuit," 14 June 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of advertisement

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French avertisement, advertissement, from avertiss-, advertiss-, stem of avertir, advertir "to notify, (reflexive) recognize, be mindful of" + -ment -ment — more at ¹advert

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 2

See Words from the same year

advertisement Synonyms

Synonyms

ad, announcement, bulletin, communiqué, notice, notification, posting, release;

bill, billboard, placard, playbill, poster, show bill, sign;

broadcast, cablecast, newscast, telecast;

advertising, billing, blurb, come-on, commercial, message, pitch, plugola, spot, word;

communication, dispatch, report;

annunciation, declaration, edict, proclamation, promulgation, pronouncement;

ballyhoo, boost, buildup, campaign, plug, promo, promotion, propaganda, publicity;

Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite

ADVERTISEMENT Defined for English Language Learners

noun

Definition of advertisement for English Language Learners

: something (such as a short film or a written notice) that is shown or presented to the public to help sell a product or to make an announcement
: a person or thing that shows how good or effective something is
: the act or process of advertising