Meaning & use
want ad
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Meanings
nouncountableinformalAmerican
A short notice in a newspaper or online site asking for something, especially a job or a worker.
Grammar: Countable: a want ad, several want ads; often used in the plural for the section of a paper.
Patterns
- place a want ad
- answer a want ad
- a want ad for something
He found his first job through a want ad in the local paper.
She placed a want ad for a used bicycle.
The want ads take up several pages on Sundays.
nouncountableinformalAmericanold-fashioned
A notice in which someone asks to buy a particular thing or to find a person.
Grammar: Countable and slightly old-fashioned now that most such notices are posted online.
Patterns
- a want ad for a car
- run a want ad
There was a want ad for a secondhand piano.
They ran a want ad hoping to find the dog that ran away.
Word forms
| plural | want ads |
|---|
Common combinations
- place a want ad
- We placed a want ad to sell the old sofa.
- answer a want ad
- She answered a want ad for a part-time waitress.
- a want ad for a job
- He circled every want ad for a job in the paper.
- the want ads
- Grandpa still reads the want ads every morning.
- run a want ad
- The shop ran a want ad for two assistants.
Synonyms and how they differ
- classified ad
- Classified ad is the more neutral, standard term for any small notice in a paper's classified section, not only ones asking for something.
- job advert
- Job advert (British) refers only to notices about work, while a want ad can ask for goods or people too.
- personal
- A personal is a notice placed to meet people, so it covers only one kind of want ad.
Word family
- classified noun
- Usually plural 'classifieds': the section of a paper holding small ads.
- ad noun
- Short informal word for any advertisement.
Commonly confused: want ad or want? want ad or advert?
want ad vs want
Don't read 'want ad' as 'an ad that is wanted'; the 'want' here means a desire or request for something.
want ad vs advert
Advert is the general British word for any advertisement, while a want ad is specifically one asking for something.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'want ad' most naturally?
Choose one answer.
A want ad is a notice asking for something, such as a roommate, so option 0 fits. Option 1 misreads 'want' as the verb 'want', option 2 splits the phrase wrongly, and option 3 makes no sense because a want ad is a notice, not a report.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “want ad”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.