advertise
- 01 A2 Elementary
to tell people about a product or service in newspapers, on TV, or online so that they will buy it.
to describe or present a product, service, or event in a public medium to increase sales or awareness.
Simple“The company spent millions of dollars to advertise their new smartphone during the football game.”
In context“Global brands often advertise their flagship products across multiple digital platforms to ensure maximum reach among younger demographics.”
UsageThis is a transitive verb that takes the product or service as its direct object.
PitfallThey advertised about the new car. They advertised the new car.The verb 'advertise' is transitive; you advertise the thing itself, not 'about' the thing.
- 02 B1 Intermediate
to post a notice saying that a job is available.
to announce a job vacancy publicly to attract potential applicants.
Simple“The restaurant is advertising for a new head chef to start next month.”
In context“The university decided to advertise the professorship internationally to attract a diverse pool of highly qualified candidates.”
UsageOften used with the preposition 'for' when the object is the person being sought.
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
to show or tell people about something, sometimes without meaning to.
to make a quality or fact known to others, often through one's appearance or behaviour.
Simple“He didn't want to advertise the fact that he was feeling very nervous.”
In context“Her expensive designer clothing seemed to advertise her wealth to everyone in the room.”
From Middle English advertisen, from Anglo-Norman advertir (“to inform”), avertir, Middle French advertir, avertir (“to warn, give notice to”), with the French -iss- infix assimilated to -ise, -ize and probably influenced by the noun advertisement. Compare also advert.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.