Synonyms

want ad

American

noun

classified ad.

want ad British

noun

informal a classified advertisement in a newspaper, magazine, etc, for something wanted, such as property or employment

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

The metal legends formed in 1981 after Mars placed a want ad in the Recycler that Sixx and Lee answered.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2023

It was a want ad in the newspaper that started Storen’s pro path.

From Washington Times • May 7, 2020

It’s not an actual want ad, but it might as well be one.

From Washington Post • Dec. 9, 2016

It all started with a want ad in a newspaper for ice cream truck drivers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2016

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 Lent, Edward B.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023