What does promote mean?
Promote is a versatile verb with several related meanings. Its most traditional sense is to advance someone to a higher rank, position, or level of responsibility, as in a promotion at work or the promotion of a candidate in an election. It can also mean to support, encourage, or further a cause, ideal, or activity: organizations promote education, health, equality, or economic growth. In commercial and cultural contexts, promote means to publicize or increase interest in a product, service, event, book, film, or performer. The word is generally formal but not obscure, and it carries a broadly positive connotation when used of advancement, although in advertising contexts it can sound promotional. Promote is especially useful because it joins ideas of upward movement, encouragement, and public attention while allowing the exact force of the verb to depend on its subject and context.
verbTo advance someone to a higher rank, position, or level of importance; to support or encourage an activity, cause, or ideal; or to publicize a product, event, or person.
- To advance someone to a higher rank, position, or level of responsibility.
- To support, encourage, or further the aims of a person, activity, cause, or principle.
- To publicize or make more widely known a product, service, event, performer, or idea.
"The campaign aims to promote greater awareness of mental health."
"She was promoted to senior manager after only two years with the company."
"The charity works to promote literacy among children in rural communities."
From Latin for "move forward," promote has spent centuries carrying ideas, people, and products toward greater visibility or importance.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does promote come from?
The English word comes from Latin promovēre, formed from the prefix pro-, meaning "forward," and movēre, meaning "to move." The underlying sense was therefore "move forward" or "advance," which developed in English during the early modern period. Its cognates and relatives include demote, emote, motive, and remote, all reflecting the same broad Latin family associated with movement.
Related word forms
How promote is actually used
Promote is formal and broadly neutral in tone. In business and public affairs, it often means to publicize something, while promoting a person usually means advancing that person's career. The verb is used in both formal and informal contexts.