want ad

IPA/ˈwɒnt æd/
IPA/ˈwɑːnt æd/

want ad — noun

1. a short paid notice, printed among similar ones in a newspaper's classified page

1.nounC1
Definition

a short paid notice, printed among similar ones in a newspaper's classified pages or posted online, in which someone says they want to buy, sell, hire, or be hired for something.

Example

Élise sold her old bicycle within a day of placing a want ad.

collocation: place a want ad

The Sunday paper had three pages of want ads for kitchen jobs.

want ads grouped by topic

Common collocations
  • place a want ad
  • answer a want ad
  • run a want ad
  • the want ads
Synonyms
  • classified ad

    the standard term in British English for the same kind of notice

  • small ad

    British, informal; stresses the short, low-cost format

Grammar Patterns

place a want ad

answer a want ad

Usage Note

Chiefly American; British speakers usually say 'classified ad' or 'small ad'. Almost always plural ('the want ads') when talking about the whole newspaper section.

Common Mistakes

I made a want ad for my car.
I placed a want ad for my car.
the verb is 'place' or 'put in', not 'make'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three name the same thing: a short, cheap notice grouped with others by topic in a newspaper or website. 'Want ad' is the everyday American term and leans toward the idea that someone 'wants' something — a job, a buyer, a used couch. 'Classified ad' is the neutral, slightly more formal label used on both sides of the Atlantic, and it is what newspapers print at the top of the section. 'Small ad' is British and informal, naming the notice by its tiny size and low cost. In Taiwan a learner will most often meet 'classified ad' in textbooks, but should recognise 'want ad' in American articles. Example: 'She placed a want ad' and 'She placed a classified ad' mean the same; only the flavour of English differs.

want ad ↗classified adsmall ad ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • want ad section
  • job want ad

Phrases

  • place a want ad
  • answer a want ad
  • run a want ad

Prepositions

  • want ad for
  • want ad in [a newspaper]

Etymology

Old NorseMiddle EnglishEnglish

A shortening of 'want advertisement', first common in American newspapers in the late 1800s. 'Want' here keeps its old sense of 'a lack of something one needs', so a want ad literally announces what a person is short of and hoping to get. 'Ad' is the clipped, casual form of 'advertisement'.

First known use

1892

1892, in the meaning defined above