noun

ad·ver·tise·ment ˌad-vər-ˈtīz-mənt

əd-ˈvər-təz-mənt,

-tə-smənt

plural advertisements

Synonyms of advertisement next

: a public notice

especially : a paid notice that is published or broadcast (as to attract customers or to provide information of public interest)

an advertisement for a new car/movie/business

advertisements for job openings

radio/television/online advertisements

took out a full-page advertisement

: the act or process of advertising something

Rules could also be introduced pertaining to the advertisement of unhealthy food …—

Brooke Rolfe

: something resembling an advertisement (as in alerting someone to something)

Many people in the UK like to put their Christmas tree up in their front window and pile gifts up beneath it. This might look good to your neighbours, but it's just an advertisement for a thief to nick your loot!—

Kate Whitfield

especially : a person or thing that shows how good or effective something is

The 25-year-old from Cameroon has become a[n] … advertisement for perseverance. —

Lethbridge News Now (online)

A CV [=curriculum vitae] is the chance to impress employers, and it is an advertisement for skills and experience. —

Laura Davies and Lucinda Reid

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 on the Web For more than 20 years, Phoenix buses have allowed advertisements on their exterior panels. —

The Arizona Republic, 10 Sep. 2023 In June 1922, the Cubs ran another advertisement, albeit in pre-politically correct language, after two previous Ladies Day promotions were marred by a rainout and a Cubs loss. —

Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune, 10 Sep. 2023 Snapchat and TikTok users under the age of 18, for example, will no longer receive personalized advertisements inside the apps. —

Chris Velazco, Washington Post, 30 Aug. 2023 Select the four bills that would not pass: 4 remaining Story continues below advertisement The bills that pass inspection get repackaged in straps and bundles by Fed staffers. —

Emily Wright, Washington Post, 18 Aug. 2023 By entering the Sweepstakes, entrants consent to receive notification of future promotions, advertisements or solicitations by or from Sponsor and/or Sponsor's parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, and business partners, via email or other means of communication. —

PCMAG, 4 Aug. 2023 Some key arguments still remain standing Google filed a motion to dismiss the suit late last year and is facing a separate lawsuit from the DOJ over its grip on the online advertisements market. —

Emma Roth, The Verge, 4 Aug. 2023 Only in the 1960s through the 1990s did historians begin to reassess that rosy picture, relying on 1930s-era interviews with former enslaved people as well as runaway slave advertisements in newspapers and records documenting enslaved people’s rebellions. —

Hannah Natanson, Anchorage Daily News, 25 July 2023 An advertisement for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline's 988 hotline is seen at the Shaw-Howard University subway station in Washington, D.C. —

Colleen Deguzman, CBS News, 25 July 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'advertisement.' 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

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 advert entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler

The first known use of advertisement was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century