ad
ad Lexical Profile
ad Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A public notice, announcement, or broadcast in a newspaper, on television, or on the internet designed to promote a product, service, or event; an advertisement.
"She placed an ad in the local paper to sell her used bicycle."
In tennis, an informal shortening of 'advantage', indicating the point scored after deuce.
"After a long rally, the server won the point to take the score to ad-in."
Word Nuance & Usage
Frequently confused with the homophone 'add' (a verb meaning to join or combine). 'Ad' is strictly a noun shortened from 'advertisement', whereas 'add' has two d's.
• Rhymes for ad
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the mid-19th century as a colloquial clipping of the noun 'advertisement', which ultimately derives from the Latin verb 'advertere', meaning 'to turn toward' or 'to direct one's attention to'.