promote

promote — verb

1. to try to make people interested in something so that they will buy it, use it,

1.動詞及物B2
釋義

to try to make people interested in something so that they will buy it, use it, support it, or help it grow

例句

The company spent millions on TV ads to promote its new smartphone last summer.

promote + product (direct-object marketing)

A balanced diet and regular exercise help promote good health.

同義詞
  • encourage

    more general and personal; focuses on giving confidence or support to a person

  • advertise

    specific to commercial selling through media; more direct than promote

  • advocate

    strong, often public support for a cause or policy; implies personal conviction

  • foster

    gently support the growth or development of something over time

反義詞
  • discourage

    to try to prevent or reduce interest in something

  • hinder

    to slow down or block progress or development

文法句型

promote + noun phrase

用法筆記

Object is typically a product, idea, activity, or behaviour that the speaker wants to grow or increase acceptance of. This sense covers both commercial marketing (products, services) and non-commercial advocacy (health, peace, awareness).

常見錯誤

❌The new law will promote small businesses to grow.
✅The new law will promote the growth of small businesses.
💡promote is not followed by an infinitive; use a noun phrase instead.
❌The government promoted people to save water.
✅The government ran a campaign to promote water conservation.
💡promote takes a noun phrase (the thing being encouraged), not a person + infinitive.

2. to give someone a more important job or a higher rank within an organisation tha

2.動詞及物B1
釋義

to give someone a more important job or a higher rank within an organisation than the one they had before

例句

After five years in the department, she was promoted to manager last month.

passive: be promoted to [position]

The company promoted Tariq to senior engineer because of his excellent work.

同義詞
  • advance

    emphasises career progress and forward movement; slightly more formal

  • elevate

    very formal; suggests a significant rise in status or rank

  • upgrade

    informal; used for position or job title changes in some industries

反義詞
  • demote

    to move someone to a lower position or rank

  • downgrade

    to reduce someone's status or job level

文法句型

promote + person + to + position

be promoted + to + position

用法筆記

Frequently used in the passive voice when the promoted person is the subject. The promoting organisation is often omitted in passive constructions: She was promoted to manager. The active form names the employer: The company promoted her to manager.

常見錯誤

❌I was promoted as manager.
✅I was promoted to manager.
💡Use to, not as, when specifying the new position.
❌The boss promoted him a manager.
✅The boss promoted him to manager.
💡Do not drop the preposition to before the new role.

3. to give a sports team a place in a higher group of competing teams, earned by fi

3.動詞及物B2
釋義

to give a sports team a place in a higher group of competing teams, earned by finishing near the top of a lower division

例句

After winning the championship, the team was promoted to the top division.

passive: be promoted to [division/league]

The club hopes to be promoted to the Premier League next season.

同義詞
  • move up

    less formal, common in sports commentary and everyday speech

  • send up

    informal British expression limited to football contexts

反義詞
  • relegate

    the standard opposite in league sports; to move a team down a division

  • send down

    informal British opposite of promote in football

文法句型

be promoted + to + [division/league]

用法筆記

Common in British English and in league-based sports such as football (soccer), rugby, and basketball. The opposite concept is relegate, which means to move a team down a division. In American English, this concept is usually expressed differently (e.g., move up to the major leagues).

常見錯誤

❌The team promoted to the first division.
✅The team was promoted to the first division.
💡This sense is almost always passive when the team is the subject; do not drop the auxiliary verb.
❌The team promoted to a higher league.
✅The team earned promotion to a higher league.
💡Use the noun promotion or the passive verb form be promoted.

4. to allow a student who has completed the required work to begin studying at the

4.動詞及物B1
釋義

to allow a student who has completed the required work to begin studying at the next level

例句

Students who pass the end-of-year exams are promoted to the next grade.

passive: be promoted to [grade/level]

Putri was promoted to sixth grade after completing all her summer assignments.

同義詞
  • move up

    less formal, more common in everyday conversation among students and parents

  • advance

    more formal, used in official school documents and reports

反義詞
  • hold back

    to keep a student in the same grade for another year

  • keep back

    less common variant of hold back

文法句型

be promoted + to + [grade/level]

用法筆記

Almost always used in the passive voice, especially in US English. The active form (the school promoted the student) is possible but very rare. This sense is more common in North American school systems; in British English, teachers usually say move up or go up instead.

常見錯誤

❌The teacher promoted the student to grade four.
✅The student was promoted to grade four.
💡Use the passive; the active form sounds unnatural in most contexts.
❌He promoted to the next grade.
✅He was promoted to the next grade.
💡Dropping the auxiliary verb is ungrammatical in this sense.