advocate
Americanverb (used with object)
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advocates,
present (3rd person singular)
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advocated,
past participle, past
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advocating
present participle
verb (used without object)
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advocates,
present (3rd person singular)
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advocated,
past participle, past
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advocating
present participle
noun
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advocates
plural
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a person who speaks or writes in support or defense of a person, cause, etc. (usually followed byof ).
an advocate of peace.
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a person who pleads for or in behalf of another; intercessor.
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a person who pleads the cause of another in a court of law.
verb
noun
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a person who upholds or defends a cause; supporter
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a person who intercedes on behalf of another
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a person who pleads his client's cause in a court of law See also barrister solicitor counsellor
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Scots law the usual word for barrister
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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advocatornoun
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nonadvocatenoun
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preadvocatenoun
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subadvocatenoun
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preadvocateverb (used with object)
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readvocateverb (used with object)
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advocativeadjective
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advocatoryadjective
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unadvocatedadjective
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well-advocatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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advocatesimple
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advocatessimple
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have advocatedperfect
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has advocatedperfect
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am advocatingprogressive
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are advocatingprogressive
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is advocatingprogressive
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have been advocatingperfect progressive
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has been advocatingperfect progressive
Past
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advocatedsimple
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had advocatedperfect
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was advocatingprogressive
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were advocatingprogressive
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had been advocatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of advocate
First recorded in 1300–50; from Latin advocātus “legal counselor,” originally past participle of advocāre “to call to one's aid,” equivalent to ad- ad- + vocāre “to call” (akin to vōx voice ); replacing Middle English avocat, from Middle French
Explanation
An advocate (AD-və-kit) is someone who supports a cause, like an advocate for outdoor recess. Advocate (AD-və-kate) is also a verb meaning to speak in favor of, so you can advocate for that outdoor recess by urging your school to play outside! As a noun, an advocate is a person who represents another person’s interests, like a lawyer does. In fact, the word comes from the courtroom — it’s from Latin advocare, to “add” a “voice.” To advocate is to add a voice of support to a cause or person. An advocate is anyone who adds that voice by representing another person in court, or by supporting or working toward a particular course of action.
Vocabulary lists containing advocate
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 1
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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:
Head and his long-term partner, animal welfare advocate Fisher, also had strong ties to the Bath area.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
Shiloh rejected suggestions she was spreading harmful misinformation, describing herself as a human rights advocate.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
“LACCD must be both an advocate for greater investment in community colleges and a responsible steward of the resources taxpayers have already provided,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Mr. Gao worked in the U.S. finance industry before becoming a full-time advocate for his parents’ freedom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Cleopatra, who became a vocal advocate for violence prevention, also returned a couple of times to attend different meetings on the issue.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Environmental and fishing advocates say they’re hoping the seasonal rains come soon to refill the river and allow the fish to reach the creeks where they can lay their eggs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Consumer advocates questioned whether the Medicare pilot will result in meaningful drug discounts for patients.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
In the weeks since the definition’s scuttled unveiling, many food and agriculture groups and companies, as well as health groups and consumer advocates, have sought to weigh in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Babies can go through about 3,000 disposable diapers a year, a basic-need product that has increasingly drawn concern from child health, environmental and consumer advocates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
Many subway advocates, at the time, told Gunn not to worry about graffiti, to focus on the larger questions of crime and subway reliability, and it seemed like reasonable advice.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
He added he had previously advocated such a move within his lifetime, whilst acknowledging it was "not necessarily the case that that is now".
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
When it comes to slowing down or “pacing” cutting-edge AI development, an idea advocated by Anthropic CEO Amodei and other AI leaders, Huang says there’s nothing stopping its creators from doing so.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Earlier this month, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei advocated for a slowdown of AI development to prevent harmful behaviors from AI models.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
He advocated for a settlement behind the scenes, according to two people close to the matter who were not authorized to comment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
The copilot should have advocated for his own opinions in a stronger way...
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
Stodden, who has been advocating to end the practice, called the change a "victory" and said survivors of child marriage should "never have been expected to carry this burden".
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
“So we will be advocating for additional funds in out years for sure.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
I’m not advocating for speeding, but you’re not bound by the confines of traffic, where you have a stoplight at every block.
From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026
Their remarks come less than two weeks after Amodei published a lengthy blog post advocating that AI companies pace their development of new models.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
For as long as she could remember, her own mother had always been busy with some committee or other, advocating for more school funding, more equity, more fairness, and bringing her young daughter along.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
Definitions 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.
