Definition of ADVERTISEMENT

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

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 companies had contracted in August of 2015 to split monthly proceeds from advertisements above an $85,000 base payout to Snopes.

— jennifer van grove, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Snopes.com victorious in pre-trial motions," 23 Aug. 2017
The advertisement was meant to comfort mothers who received a prenatal diagnosis and assure them that their children would have beautiful, largely normal lives.

— alexandra desanctis, National Review, "Iceland Eliminates People with Down Syndrome," 16 Aug. 2017
The Guardian reports that the Advertising Standards Authority has proposed the new rules to crack down on ads that perpetuate gender stereotypes as part of an effort to address how women are portrayed in advertisements.

— lisa ryan, The Cut, "Ads That Perpetuate Sexist Stereotypes May Soon Be Banned Under New U.K. Rules," 18 July 2017
One of ICAIC’s most prolific designers, Antonio Reboiro (b. 1935), created a psychedelic advertisement for John Huston’s 1956 adventure flick Moby Dick, which was shown in Cuba 12 years later.

— amy crawford, Smithsonian, "The Cuban Government Brought New Life to Hollywood Movies With These Vivid Posters," 30 June 2017
There is nearly 90,000 square feet of warehouse space and nearly 33,000 square feet of office space available at the new East Fork Business Center, Colliers International’s advertisements say.

— jeanne houck, Cincinnati.com, "Former 3M Co. site in Milford marketed as ‘business center’," 29 June 2017
The line, out July 11, will feature four limited-edition pairs of sunglasses and 11 permanent ones — and while this is great news for sunnies lovers, the best part of the announcement was definitely the advertisements.

— braelyn wood, Cosmopolitan, "These Photos of Kylie Jenner in a Swimsuit Are Total Fire," 28 June 2017
With the July Fourth holiday approaching, car dealership advertisements flood the airwaves and every deal sounds better than the one before it.

— matt jones, The Seattle Times, "Edmunds: Finding best July Fourth deals in bevy of offers," 28 June 2017
Pictured above is an early advertisement for Dale's.

— AL.com, "Alabama's iconic Dale's steak sauce: A well-seasoned history," 22 June 2017

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

see advertise

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

advertisement Synonyms

Synonyms

ad, advert [chiefly British], announcement, bulletin, communiqué, notice, notification, posting, release

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