advocates

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of advocate.

   Patient advocates helped the elderly couple understand their treatment options.

   The reform attracted vocal advocates from across the political spectrum.

   Note

   A regular plural that can name quite different people: courtroom counsel, intercessors pleading another's cause, or proponents of an idea. The words around it do the sorting. Patient advocates are supporters who help others make their voices heard, while advocates arguing before a court are professionals. The same spelling also serves as the present-tense verb, so check whether a subject comes before it.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of advocate.

   The mayor advocates a gradual phase-out of older diesel buses.

   Her latest book advocates for a complete rethinking of urban planning.

   Note

   Two constructions share this form. Used transitively, it takes the cause as a direct object: the mayor advocates a gradual phase-out. Used intransitively, in the sense of engaging in advocacy, the cause follows for: her book advocates for a complete rethinking. Behind both sits a narrow legal use, which means appealing from an inferior court to the Court of Session, or a court calling a case before itself.

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