wanting
Americanadjective
-
lacking or absent.
a motor with some of the parts wanting.
-
deficient in some part, thing, or respect.
to be wanting in courtesy.
preposition
-
lacking; without.
a box wanting a lid.
-
less; minus.
a century wanting three years.
adjective
-
lacking or absent; missing
-
not meeting requirements or expectations
you have been found wanting
preposition
-
without
-
archaic minus
Etymology
Origin of wanting
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English (adjective); want + -ing 2
Explanation
If something's wanting, there's not enough of something necessary in it. If your essay is wanting, it's missing something important and won't get an A. Try adding body paragraphs. If you forget the sugar in your chocolate chip cookies, you'll find them wanting when you taste them. Likewise, if your favorite team's defense is wanting, they're likely to lose the basketball game. Wanting, which was originally wantand, comes from the verb want, "to be lacking." This definition pre-dated the now more common "to wish for" by 500 years.
Vocabulary lists containing wanting
Nobody's Home: Synonyms For "Absent"
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Absent
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Lacking
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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.
These days, Martinez prefers to top off her tank long before it is empty, not wanting to spend the $80 a full tank costs all at once.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026
The same girls reported wanting to protect younger girls who they see posting online about "wanting a toxic relationship with a guy" in which they are "told to watch their behaviour or change their attitude".
From BBC • Apr. 12, 2026
"It just doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever, and it may not instil any confidence in people wanting to undertake the course that I have done, and be a nurse."
From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026
"There's been a lot of happiness and excitement, a lot of joy," she said, but also "some anxiety and some wanting to get him home safely."
From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026
I don’t blame her for wanting to rid the kitchen of rotting fruit.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Definitions 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.
