How to Use want in a Sentence

want

1 of 2 verb
  • The motor wants a tune-up.
  • Tell him that the teacher wants him.
  • Do you want anything from the store?
  • I just wanted a chance to rest.
  • She wanted more time to finish the test.
  • Do you want more coffee?
  • You can choose whichever color you want.
  • Thousands of poor people still want food and shelter.
  • He wants a bicycle for his birthday.
  • What do you want for Christmas?
  • And the workers, by the way, who want all the overtime ...
    Eric D. Lawrence, Detroit Free Press, 26 Dec. 2020
  • Hamas, at the end of the day, Israel wants Hamas to be gone from – from Gaza.
    ABC News, 22 Oct. 2023
  • And that, again, comes down to whether the Wizards would want to deal.
    Ira Winderman, sun-sentinel.com, 4 June 2021
  • What the people want is regime change, and no return to the past.
    Karl Vick, Time, 29 Sep. 2022
  • No one wants to spend a lot of time or money in the chase.
    Michael Nagrant, RedEye Chicago, 12 July 2018
  • The league — and the teams and players — don’t want to have byes that early.
    Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune, 14 Dec. 2022
  • Those who do not want the drug do not have to get it, of course.
    William G. Woods, STAT, 17 Aug. 2022
  • Watching late at night and don’t want to disturb the rest of the house?
    Maren Estrada, BGR, 26 Feb. 2021
  • With a dress this fun, who wouldn't want to serve up some looks?
    Anna Moeslein, Glamour, 23 May 2021
  • We’re told that Bauer wants to pitch in the major leagues — so what?
    Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2024
  • The big bet is on the idea that people want to only skim.
    Clare Malone, The New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2022
  • The best directors are the ones who want to work with the actors.
    Marta Balaga, Variety, 31 Jan. 2024
  • Absolver is a game that wants to be very, very many things.
    Steven Strom, Ars Technica, 29 Aug. 2017
  • For folks who don't want to be bogged down by a big bag, this piece is the one for you.
    Jessica Leigh Mattern, Peoplemag, 9 Apr. 2023
  • Critics were quick to note that the change some people want is at the very top.
    Arkansas Online, 5 Feb. 2022
  • People from around the world want to be able to see it—and protect it.
    Alexandra Ossola, Quartz, 13 June 2020
  • Robinson didn't want to hold bags of poop for that long.
    La Risa R. Lynch, Journal Sentinel, 18 Nov. 2022
  • Tumblr diehards do not want the site to be a landing pad for the normies.
    Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 18 Nov. 2022
  • The same goes for anyone who might want to present to colleagues.
    Ashley Carman, The Verge, 27 Dec. 2018
  • Was there a part of you when you were asked to come back that didn't want to open up that wound again?
    Dalton Ross, EW.com, 2 June 2022
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want

2 of 2 noun
  • His attitude shows a want of proper respect.
  • He is suffering from want of adequate sleep.
  • Ball has the want and the feel to make plays, along with some of the means.
    Rob Mahoney, SI.com, 14 Dec. 2017
  • Both of us are in want of coats and a pair of breeche’s.
    Gregory S. Schneider, Washington Post, 16 June 2018
  • Yet to get off the mark but that's not for the want of trying.
    SI.com, 13 Sep. 2019
  • The good thing was her wants and my wants were exactly the same.
    Elizabeth Leonard, PEOPLE.com, 11 July 2018
  • Fans by and large want to see lots of offense and lots of points.
    BostonGlobe.com, 30 Oct. 2021
  • Our mom taught us the difference between the need and the want.
    Drew Davison, star-telegram, 10 Sep. 2016
  • Do the Cavs want to trade down and go the big-volume approach?
    Terry Pluto, cleveland.com, 20 June 2019
  • As for how many kids the duo want, Bieber had an answer for that.
    PEOPLE.com, 20 July 2021
  • Now the brothers- and sisters-in-law want to go out for brunch and hear all about the wedding.
    Washington Post, 11 Jan. 2020
  • What Moore and many on the left want isn’t mere victory.
    Andy Marso, chicagotribune.com, 2 Aug. 2019
  • Campbell would be the first to admit that right now, bars are a want but not a need.
    Brooke Henderson, Fortune, 11 Aug. 2020
  • Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts, and Stark guide him and his want to save the world.
    Chris Hachey, BGR, 14 Oct. 2021
  • Can a want of water be traced to its source, like a river?
    Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2022
  • Keeping your staff on a salary is a need, but bonuses are a want.
    Expert Panel®, Forbes, 26 May 2022
  • Your wants may not align with your budget while the moon and Mercury square off.
    USA TODAY, 25 Aug. 2023
  • The sound didn’t so much echo as fill the space, for want of competition.
    Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2022
  • This place feels homey, inviting and laid-back — exactly the vibe the co-founders of Juice @ 1340 want.
    Chasity Cooper, Chicago Tribune, 25 Apr. 2022
  • The staff limits its attentions to the needs and wants of its customers.
    James Estrin, New York Times, 19 June 2018
  • The need isn’t high, but the want for one in every cycle is why OSU still finds itself in the thick of things.
    Stephen Means, cleveland, 1 May 2022
  • True, no one goes to the barricades just for want of a Mercedes-Benz.
    New York Times, 18 Mar. 2022
  • Others claim that the want of jobs leaves those who commit these crimes no choice.
    Joseph Epstein, WSJ, 9 Jan. 2022
  • Gonzaga's Mark Few didn't see a lack of want-to from his foe.
    Ryan Black, The Courier-Journal, 21 Nov. 2022
  • Would your loved one want to be a hero, save lives, have a living legacy?
    Amanda Kingsbury, Indianapolis Star, 12 Apr. 2018
  • But what if someone on leave wants to look for and/or apply for a new job?
    Kathleen Furore, chicagotribune.com, 7 Nov. 2019
  • Grace: There was so much on the line, and there was just that feeling of pressure and feeling of want and hope.
    Josh Chesler, SPIN, 5 Mar. 2022
  • Notre Dame didn’t play with any passion or poise or fight or want-to almost from the start.
    Tom Noie, The Indianapolis Star, 4 Mar. 2021
  • That hardly means Seidler owns an ounce less of want-to-win.
    Bryce Miller Columnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Nov. 2020
  • How his mouth, unused to passing air, dried from want of use.
    Jodie Briggs, Longreads, 27 Mar. 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'want.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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