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to announce or praise (a product, service, etc.) in some public medium of communication in order to induce people to buy or use it:
to advertise a new brand of toothpaste.
to give information to the public about; announce publicly in a newspaper, on radio or television, etc.:
to advertise a reward.
to call attention to, in a boastful or ostentatious manner:
Stop advertising yourself!
Obsolete. to give notice, advice, or information to; inform:
I advertised him of my intention.
Obsolete. to admonish; warn.
to ask for something by placing a notice in a newspaper, over radio or television, etc.:
to advertise for a house to rent.
to offer goods for sale or rent, solicit funds, etc., by means of advertisements:
It pays to advertise.
Cards.

Poker. to bluff so as to make the bluff obvious.
Rummy. to discard a card in order to induce an opponent to discard one of the same suit or denomination.

Contemporary Examples

The company is spending $50 million to advertise its Gulf cleanup.
Why BP Didn’t Plan for This Crisis Eric Dezenhall June 8, 2010

Business needs to advertise, and the Web alone is not enough in some display categories.
The Scrappy Entrepreneurs Who Will Save Media Peter Osnos May 11, 2009

“At the beginning, no one would be brave enough to advertise with us,” Sowore said.
Africa’s WikiLeaks Philip Shenon August 11, 2010

Eric Idle said, “It means we can advertise it as 300 quid cheaper than the Stones.”
Monty Python—Not Dead Yet Tom Sykes November 20, 2013

Tom Grabe says that “most of the top dogs” advertise with the Chronicle, but not necessarily all of them.
The Dog Glamour Ads That Win Westminster Josh Dean February 8, 2012

Historical Examples

To advertise goods is to cause the public to turn their attention to them.
Orthography Elmer W. Cavins

It was a different thing to advertise one’s mediocrity to the world.
K Mary Roberts Rinehart

It was a stroke of genius to advertise my discovery in the papers.
The Burglars’ Club Henry A. Hering

There’s some exports it doesn’t pay to advertise, I guess, and she and her sister are that kind.
Kent Knowles: Quahaug Joseph C. Lincoln

advertise your list, and do not for a moment think that great literature, because it is great, needs no advertising.
Papers and Proceedings of the Thirty-fourth Annual Meeting of the American Library Association Held at Ottawa, Canada June 26-July 2, 1912 Various

verb
to present or praise (goods, a service, etc) to the public, esp in order to encourage sales
to make (something, such as a vacancy, article for sale, etc) publicly known, as to possible applicants, buyers, etc: to advertise a job
(intransitive) foll by for. to make a public request (for), esp in a newspaper, etc: she advertised for a cook
(obsolete) to warn; caution
v.

early 15c., “to take notice of,” from Middle French advertiss-, present participle stem of a(d)vertir “to warn” (12c.), from Latin advertere “turn toward,” from ad- “toward” (see ad-) + vertere “to turn” (see versus).

Sense shifted to “to give notice to others, warn” (late 15c.) by influence of advertisement; specific meaning “to call attention to goods for sale, rewards, etc.” had emerged by late 18c. Original meaning remains in the verb advert “to give attention to.” Related: Advertised; advertising.