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to speak or write in favor of; support or urge by argument; recommend publicly:
he advocated higher salaries for teachers.
a person who speaks or writes in support or defense of a person, cause, etc. (usually followed by of):
an advocate of peace.
a person who pleads for or in behalf of another; intercessor.
a person who pleads the cause of another in a court of law.
contemporary examples

one reader asked beck point blank if he, like many of the commenters on his web site, advocated a violent revolution.
how glenn beck saves lives reihan salam june 18, 2009

ted cruz advocated overturning nearly 100 years of supreme court precedent on wednesday.
ted cruz advocates overruling 100-year-old supreme court case ben jacobs october 29, 2013

george advocated normalization of relations with china in a series of lectures in 1951, at the height of the korean war.
robert shrum on friend george mcgovern, the prophet politician robert shrum october 21, 2012

john maynard keynes advocated demand management as an alternative to a state-directed economy.
the green stimulus’ red ink david frum december 2, 2012

roosevelt advocated conservation before the word was even en vogue.
the daily beast recommends the daily beast august 10, 2009

historical examples

he was the one who advocated the honor system, and i fell for it.
joan of the journal helen diehl olds

advocated with more heat than light by the outmates of every asylum for the insane.
the devil’s dictionary ambrose bierce

his plan was essentially that which lincoln had advocated and attempted to carry into execution.
the struggle between president johnson and congress over reconstruction charles ernest chadsey

it was shared and advocated by many of the best and ablest men.
the continental monthly, vol. 6, no 3, september 1864 various

he thought that it would be a good thing to have the province of uble go dry and advocated it strongly.
journeys and experiences in argentina, paraguay, and chile henry stephens

verb (ˈædvəˌkeɪt)
(transitive; may take a clause as object) to support or recommend publicly; plead for or speak in favour of
noun (ˈædvəkɪt; -ˌkeɪt)
a person who upholds or defends a cause; supporter
a person who intercedes on behalf of another
a person who pleads his client’s cause in a court of law see also barrister, solicitor, counsellor
(scots law) the usual word for barrister
n.

mid-14c., “one whose profession is to plead cases in a court of justice,” a technical term from roman law, from old french avocat “barrister, advocate, spokesman,” from latin advocatus “one called to aid; a pleader, advocate,” noun use of past participle of advocare “to call” (as witness or advisor) from ad- “to” (see ad-) + vocare “to call,” related to vocem (see voice (n.)). also in middle english as “one who intercedes for another,” and “protector, champion, patron.” feminine forms advocatess, advocatrice were in use in 15c.
v.

1640s, from advocate (n.). related: advocated; advocating; advocation.

(gr. parakletos), one who pleads another’s cause, who helps another by defending or comforting him. it is a name given by christ three times to the holy ghost (john 14:16; 15:26; 16:7, where the greek word is rendered “comforter,” q.v.). it is applied to christ in 1 john 2:1, where the same greek word is rendered “advocate,” the rendering which it should have in all the places where it occurs. tertullus “the orator” (acts 24:1) was a roman advocate whom the jews employed to accuse paul before felix.