the commercial

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   an advertisement that is broadcast on television or radio.

   Grammar: Countable; use 'a commercial' for one, 'commercials' for more than one.

   Patterns

   • a commercial for something
   • run a commercial
   • see a commercial

   I saw a funny commercial for a new phone.

   The commercial breaks are getting longer.

   They ran the same commercial three times during the game.

2. 2adjectivebefore a noun

   connected with buying and selling goods, or making a profit.

   Grammar: Used before a noun; not usually after a verb.

   Patterns

   • commercial success
   • commercial value
   • commercial purposes

   The film was a commercial success but critics hated it.

   They use the building for commercial purposes.

   The product has no commercial value.

Word forms

Common combinations

TV commercial

The TV commercial aired during prime time.

commercial break

We missed the goal because of a commercial break.

run a commercial

The company will run a commercial during the Super Bowl.

commercial success

The book was a commercial success.

commercial value

The land has high commercial value.

Synonyms and how they differ

advertisement

A general term for any ad; 'commercial' is specifically for broadcast ads.

ad

Short and informal; 'commercial' is more formal and usually refers to TV or radio.

Word family

commerce noun

the activity of buying and selling

commercialize verb

to make something into a business or use it to make money

commercially adverb

in a way that relates to business or profit

Commonly confused: the commercial or commercial?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “the commercial”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words