want ad

noun

: a newspaper advertisement stating that something (such as an employee, employment, or a specified item) is wanted

Examples of want ad in a Sentence

She checked the want ads to find a new job.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Liz Warren and her soulmate Harold Daggett would undoubtedly like to see would-be renters and landlords bent over the want ads with a pencil in hand, guessing prices, circling leads and calling each other on their rotary phones. Michael Graham, Boston Herald, 9 Oct. 2024 According to the Harris Poll, 76% of consumers want ads that are personalized or relevant to their interests. Greg Petro, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024 The prices are lower than those rumors suggested, though: €9.99 ($10.58) a month for a web-only experience, and €12.99 for those who want ads removed from Meta’s iOS and Android apps. David Meyer, Fortune, 30 Oct. 2023 Microsoft should respect the fact that people already pay for Windows and don’t want ads shoved down their throats. Tom Warren, The Verge, 30 Aug. 2023 The metal legends formed in 1981 after Mars placed a want ad in the Recycler that Sixx and Lee answered. Nardine Saad, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2023 In 1942, her mother spotted a want ad that said the publisher Fiction House was looking for cartoonists and encouraged her to apply. Neil Genzlinger, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2022 He was born Joseph Aloysius Ratzinger on April 16, 1927, in the Bavarian village of Marktl am Inn, the third child of a police officer and a cook who had met through a want ad in the local newspaper. Henry Chudeputy News Editor, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2022 Like so many 21st-century humans looking for love, a female black widow in the mood puts a want ad on the web. Lesley Evans Ogden, Discover Magazine, 19 Aug. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1892, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of want ad was in 1892

Dictionary Entries Near want ad

Cite this Entry

“Want ad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/want%20ad. Accessed 26 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

want ad

noun
: a newspaper advertisement stating that something (as an employee, job, or item) is wanted
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!