promote
Americanverb (used with object)
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promotes,
present (3rd person singular)
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promoted,
past participle, past
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promoting
present participle
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to help or encourage to exist or flourish; further.
to promote world peace.
- Antonyms:
- obstruct, discourage
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to advance in rank, dignity, position, etc. (opposed to demote).
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Education. to put ahead to the next higher stage or grade of a course or series of classes.
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to aid in organizing (business undertakings).
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to encourage the sales, acceptance, etc., of (a product), especially through advertising or other publicity.
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Informal. to obtain (something) by cunning or trickery; wangle.
verb
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to further or encourage the progress or existence of
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to raise to a higher rank, status, degree, etc
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to advance (a pupil or student) to a higher course, class, etc
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to urge the adoption of; work for
to promote reform
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to encourage the sale of (a product) by advertising or securing financial support
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chess to exchange (a pawn) for any piece other than a king when the pawn reaches the 8th rank
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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promotabilitynoun
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promotionnoun
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prepromoteverb (used with object)
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promotableadjective
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promotionaladjective
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self-promotingadjective
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unpromotableadjective
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unpromotedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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promotesimple
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promotessimple
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have promotedperfect
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has promotedperfect
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am promotingprogressive
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are promotingprogressive
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is promotingprogressive
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have been promotingperfect progressive
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has been promotingperfect progressive
Past
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promotedsimple
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had promotedperfect
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was promotingprogressive
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were promotingprogressive
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had been promotingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of promote
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English promoten, from Latin prōmōtus, past participle of prōmovēre “to move forward, advance”; see pro- 1, motive
Explanation
If you work for a marketing firm, your job is to promote new products — to publicize them and to try to get the public to buy them. The verb promote can also mean to advance to a higher position. Because of your hard work, your boss might decide to promote you. In school, passing students are promoted each year when they enter a higher grade. In chess, the verb promote is used when a pawn is exchanged for a higher ranking piece. Make sure you promote your pawn to a queen, giving you two queens on the board and a strong advantage in the game.
Vocabulary lists containing promote
Preamble to the U.S. Constitution (1787)
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Words for Father's Day: What Fathers Do
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Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Even after a song has gone viral, some musicians say it can be hard to promote subsequent releases and sustain a career.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
The Mop Up Michigan coalition describes the initiative as a step to promote campaign-finance transparency and prevent corruption.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
"Companies are tapping into social media to help promote their business, but on the flip side, it creates these communities," he said, adding that "healthy competition" online can spur people on.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
She’s done dozens of interviews chronicling an industry that rose to prominence in the 1970s and grew on subsidies designed to promote it as renewable energy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
For my Raleigh concert I'd probably open with the number used to promote the town's oldest shopping center.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
They need to socialize a language of accountability that promotes rule of law, democracy, and due process while eschewing talk of retribution, retaliation, or political payback.
From Slate ● Oct. 21, 2026
Although greater activity in the locus coeruleus generally promotes alertness, excessive stimulation can have the opposite effect.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026
The office “takes seriously its responsibility to protect public funds and hold itself to the standards of accountability it promotes across state government,” the spokesperson said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
"That trend really promotes blankness and this kind of sameness and erasure of culture and identity that is so important to black and brown communities," beauty journalist Kristina Rodulfo tells the BBC.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
“This unassuming style promotes study, that’s why we adopt it,” returned Laurie, who certainly could not be accused of vanity, having voluntarily sacrificed a handsome curly crop to the demand for quarter-inch-long stubble.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
Cat’s claw has been promoted to treat osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, viral infections and other conditions, according to the integrative health center.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
It promoted ACOT1's destruction through the ubiquitin‒proteasome system, a cellular mechanism that marks proteins for removal and breaks them down.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026
It was rejected after the trio wanted to keep the 18-year-old to help them get promoted.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
Musk has often promoted Community Notes, calling it "awesome" and asserting that all users, including himself, were subject to being corrected by the crowd-sourced model.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
“Yes, ma’am. Got promoted last week. They messed up, letting me and Marlon goof off out here.”
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
Researchers will need to determine whether MTCH2 can be targeted safely, which tissues would benefit most, and whether reducing its activity would preserve muscle health while promoting fat loss.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026
It was inside that kitchen that the boxing champion filmed commercials promoting his namesake grill, the kitchen appliance that helped turn him into a household name beyond the world of sports.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026
The company is expected to grow by promoting cross-selling and increasing average revenue per user with a broader product lineup, the analyst says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
This is the fourth installment of this movement over the last year or so, each promoting a different message.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
Leukemia may occur as a two-step process, the malignant change being initiated by X-radiation, the promoting action being supplied by a chemical, as, for example, urethane.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
