advice

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/ədˈvaɪs/
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Guidance about what to do, with formal notice and specialist computing uses where the word names information supplied to a transaction or computation.
Practice using advice in conversation until it feels natural

Examples

  • The accounts team matched the payment to its remittance advice.
  • The doctor gave clear advice about rest and exercise.
  • I should have taken your advice sooner.
  • In complexity theory, an advice string may depend on the input length.
  • The website offers practical advice for first-time renters.

Similar words

direction
hook
callback
interceptor
notification
auxiliary input
dispatch
report
suggestion
augmentation

Meanings

Guidance about what to do

noun
everyday
neutral
An opinion or recommendation offered to help someone choose a course of action.

Usage

Use advice for guidance about what someone should do, usually with verbs such as give, ask for, seek, take, or follow.

Examples

  • She asked for advice before accepting the job.
  • The doctor gave clear advice about rest and exercise.
  • I should have taken your advice sooner.
  • The website offers practical advice for first-time renters.
  • A word of advice: check the contract before you sign.

Common mistakes

The noun is confused with the verb advise, and the uncountable noun is incorrectly made plural.
IncorrectCorrect
Can you advice me about the interview? Can you advise me about the interview?
She gave me three advices. She gave me three pieces of advice.
His advice were helpful. His advice was helpful.
I made his advice and left early. I took his advice and left early.

Similar words

guidance
counsel
recommendation
suggestion
tip
direction

Official notice or message

noun
business
formal
A formal notice or message that gives information, especially about a business, legal, financial, or distant matter.

Usage

Use advice in formal compounds such as remittance advice, credit advice, or advice of dispatch, where it means a notice rather than personal guidance.

Examples

  • The accounts team matched the payment to its remittance advice.
  • A credit advice confirmed that the refund had reached the account.
  • The buyer requested an advice of dispatch before releasing payment.
  • Recent diplomatic advices from the capital were cautious.
  • The letter served as formal advice that the sale had been completed.

Common mistakes

The formal countable use is mistaken for ordinary guidance, or the compound is replaced by the everyday noun.
IncorrectCorrect
The bank sent helpful advice about the transfer. The bank sent a remittance advice about the transfer.
We received an advice from our teacher. We received advice from our teacher.
The advice of dispatch gave me career tips. The advice of dispatch confirmed that the goods had shipped.
Recent diplomatic advice has changed my plans. Recent diplomatic advices report that talks have resumed.

Similar words

notice
notification
message
dispatch
intelligence
report

Auxiliary code or information

noun
computing
technical
Extra code or information supplied to a computation, either to run at a chosen point in a program or to guide a machine on inputs of a given length.

Usage

Use advice in technical computing contexts where the field itself uses the term, especially aspect-oriented programming and complexity theory.

Examples

  • The logging advice runs after each matched method call.
  • AspectJ allows before, after, and around advice.
  • The pointcut decides where the advice is applied.
  • In complexity theory, an advice string may depend on the input length.
  • Non-uniform computation can be modeled with bounded advice.

Common mistakes

The technical term is treated as ordinary guidance, or it is confused with a pointcut or the whole aspect.
IncorrectCorrect
The advice told the programmer what to do next. The advice ran before the method returned.
The pointcut contains the logging advice. The pointcut selects where the logging advice runs.
The aspect is the same as the advice. The aspect contains the advice and the pointcut.
The advice string can depend on each input bit. The advice string can depend on the input length.

Similar words

hook
interceptor
callback
augmentation
hint
auxiliary input

Usage

Treat the ordinary sense as uncountable: ask for advice, a piece of advice, or some advice, not an advice or advices.

Common mistakes

Advice is the noun and advise is the verb, so write advice was helpful but she advised me.

Etymology

From Old French avis, meaning opinion, view, or judgment, from a phrase meaning it seems to me. The spelling gained d by analogy with Latin-looking forms, and c later helped separate the noun from the verb advise.

FAQ

What does advice mean?

Advice usually means guidance or a recommendation about what someone should do.

Is advice a noun or a verb?

Advice is a noun. The verb is advise.

Can advice be plural?

In the ordinary guidance sense, advice is uncountable, so use pieces of advice rather than advices.

What is a piece of advice?

A piece of advice is one specific recommendation or suggestion.

What is legal or financial advice?

Legal or financial advice is guidance from someone applying professional knowledge to a particular situation.

What does advice mean in business documents?

In business documents, an advice can be a formal notice, such as a remittance advice or credit advice.

What does advice mean in programming?

In aspect-oriented programming, advice is code that runs at selected points in another program.

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