want ad
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of want ad
An Americanism dating back to 1885–90
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If you want ad dollars, you have to put on a show.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
In 1942, her mother spotted a want ad that said the publisher Fiction House was looking for cartoonists and encouraged her to apply.
From New York Times ● Sep. 14, 2022
It was a want ad in the newspaper that started Storen’s pro path.
From Washington Times ● May 7, 2020
Wild persimmons, cakes and cookies, a wall of KitchenAid mixers, a scribbled want ad: all reasons to follow her, and probably eat at Cooks County even more than you already do.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2014
I paid the same prices as Jim, but I would have done just as badly at three times as much, and might just as well have saved money buying second-hand through a want "ad."
From Cupid's Middleman by Edward B. Lent
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
