advocacy

noun ad·vo·ca·cy \ ˈad-və-kə-sē \

|Updated on: 11 Jun 2018

Definition of advocacy

: the act or process of supporting a cause or proposal : the act or process of advocating (see ²advocate) something

known for his advocacy of gay rights

See advocacy defined for English-language learners

See advocacy defined for kids

Recent Examples of advocacy from the Web

The release noted that Ocean Conservancy, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, estimates that eight million metric tons of plastics enter the ocean each year, in addition to the estimated 150 million metric tons across the word.

— CBS News, "SeaWorld removes single-use plastic bags, straws from theme parks," 8 June 2018
Much of that work has been spurred by the Oral Contraceptives Over-the-Counter Working Group, a coalition of clinicians, advocacy groups, and health organizations formed in 2004 and supported by a slew of medical groups.

— megan thielking, STAT, "Pressure mounts on drug makers to move birth control over the counter," 8 June 2018
That review will solicit concerns and suggestions from the public, park advocacy groups, and other stakeholders.

— brion o’connor, BostonGlobe.com, "Make way for electric mountain bikes?," 8 June 2018
Journalism advocacy groups have accused the government of overstepping the First Amendment in its targeting of journalists in leak investigations, a campaign that began during the Obama administration.

— NBC News, "Top Senate staffer arrested in leak probe, after NY Times reporter's records are seized," 8 June 2018
Immigrant family advocacy groups like Make the Road New York have called for an investigation.

— claudia torrens, chicagotribune.com, "Army base calls immigration agents on pizza delivery man," 7 June 2018
The Alliance for Justice, a liberal judicial advocacy group, earlier this year highlighted excerpts from the college writings, calling Bounds unfit for a lifetime judge's position.

— maxine bernstein, OregonLive.com, "Senate Judiciary votes 11 to 10 to forward Ryan Bounds' 9th Circuit nomination to Senate floor," 7 June 2018
According to the MLD Foundation, a nonprofit advocacy group, there are 3,630 people in the U.S. with MLD, and 114 are born every year with it.

— sumathi reddy, WSJ, "The ‘Right to Try’ Law Says Yes, the Drug Company Says No," 6 June 2018
The animal advocacy group is seeking anyone with information about what happened.

— carlie kollath wells, NOLA.com, "Decapitated cat's head found on sidewalk in Uptown New Orleans, Humane Society says," 5 June 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of advocacy

Middle English advocacie "intercession," borrowed from Anglo-French advocassie "pleading," borrowed from Medieval Latin advocatia "patronage," from Latin advocātus ¹advocate + -ia ²-y

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year