have
Americanverb (used with object)
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has,
present (3rd person singular)
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had,
past, past participle
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having
present participle
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to possess; own; hold for use; contain.
He has property. The work has an index.
- Antonyms:
- lack
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to hold, possess, or accept in some relation, as of kindred or relative position.
He wanted to marry her, but she wouldn't have him.
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to get, receive, or take.
to have a part in a play; to have news.
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to experience, undergo, or endure, as joy or pain.
Have a good time. He had a heart attack last year.
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to hold in mind, sight, etc..
to have doubts.
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to cause to, as by command or invitation.
Have him come here at five.
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to be related to or be in a certain relation to.
She has three cousins. He has a kind boss.
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to show or exhibit in action or words.
She had the crust to refuse my invitation.
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to be identified or distinguished by; possess the characteristic of.
He has a mole on his left cheek. This wood has a silky texture.
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to engage in or carry on.
to have a talk; to have a fight.
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to partake of; eat or drink.
He had cake and coffee for dessert.
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to permit or allow.
I will not have any talking during the concert.
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to assert, maintain, or represent as being.
Rumor has it that she's going to be married.
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to know, understand, or be skilled in.
to have neither Latin nor Greek.
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to beget or give birth to.
to have a baby.
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to hold an advantage over.
He has you there.
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to outwit, deceive, or cheat.
We realized we'd been had by an expert con artist.
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to control or possess through bribery; bribe.
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to gain possession of.
There is none to be had at that price.
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to hold or put in a certain position or situation.
The problem had me stumped. They had him where they wanted him.
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to exercise, display, or make use of.
Have pity on him.
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to invite or cause to be present as a companion or guest.
We had Evelyn and Everett over for dinner. He has his bodyguard with him at all times.
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to engage in sexual intercourse with.
verb (used without object)
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has,
present (3rd person singular)
-
had,
past, past participle
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having
present participle
auxiliary verb
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has,
present (3rd person singular)
-
had,
past, past participle
-
having
present participle
-
(used with a past participle to form perfect tenses).
She has gone. It would have been an enjoyable party if he hadn't felt downcast.
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to be required, compelled, or under obligation (followed by infinitival to, with or without a main verb).
I have to leave now. I didn't want to study, but I had to.
noun
verb phrase
idioms
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have it in / out for, to plan or wish to do something unpleasant to; hold a grudge against.
She has it in for intelligent students who fail to use their abilities.
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had better / best, ought to.
You'd better go now, it's late.
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have on,
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to be clothed in; be wearing.
She had on a new dress.
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to have arranged or planned.
What do you have on for Christmas?
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to tease (a person); make the butt of a joke.
-
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had rather. rather.
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have had it,
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to become weary of or disgusted with whatever one has been doing.
I've been working like a fool, but now I've had it.
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to suffer defeat; fail.
He was a great pitcher, but after this season he'll have had it.
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to have missed a last opportunity.
He refused to take any more excuses and told them all that they'd had it.
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to become unpopular or passé.
Quiz shows have had it.
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have it coming, to merit or deserve.
When they lost their fortune, everyone said that they had it coming.
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have done, to cease; finish.
It seemed that they would never have done with their struggle.
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have it out, to come to an understanding or decision through discussion or combat.
We've been in disagreement about this for a long time, and I think we should have it out, once and for all.
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have to do with,
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to be connected or associated with.
Your lack of confidence probably had a lot to do with your not getting the job.
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to deal with; be concerned with.
I will have nothing to do with their personal squabbles.
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to have and to hold, to possess legally; have permanent possession of.
The house, with the mortgage finally paid, was at last their own to have and to hold.
verb
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to be in material possession of; own
he has two cars
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to possess as a characteristic quality or attribute
he has dark hair
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to receive, take, or obtain
she had a present from him
have a look
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to hold or entertain in the mind
to have an idea
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to possess a knowledge or understanding of
I have no German
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to experience or undergo
to have a shock
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to be infected with or suffer from
to have a cold
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to gain control of or advantage over
you have me on that point
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slang (usually passive) to cheat or outwit
he was had by that dishonest salesman
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(foll by on) to exhibit (mercy, compassion, etc, towards)
have mercy on us, Lord
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to engage or take part in
to have a conversation
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to arrange, carry out, or hold
to have a party
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to cause, compel, or require to (be, do, or be done)
have my shoes mended
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(takes an infinitive with to) used as an auxiliary to express compulsion or necessity
I had to run quickly to escape him
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to eat, drink, or partake of
to have a good meal
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slang to have sexual intercourse with
he had her on the sofa
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(used with a negative) to tolerate or allow
I won't have all this noise
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to declare, state, or assert
rumour has it that they will marry
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to put or place
I'll have the sofa in this room
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to receive as a guest
to have three people to stay
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to beget or bear (offspring)
she had three children
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(takes a past participle) used as an auxiliary to form compound tenses expressing completed action
I have gone
I shall have gone
I would have gone
I had gone
-
ought to: used to express compulsion, obligation, etc
you had better go
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to consider or find preferable that
I had rather you left at once
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See done
-
informal
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to be exhausted, defeated, or killed
-
to have lost one's last chance
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to become unfashionable
-
-
to win a victory
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slang to have sexual intercourse
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informal to be about to receive or to merit punishment or retribution
-
informal to wish or intend harm towards
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to have so many benefits, esp material benefits
-
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to have dealings or associate with
I have nothing to do with her
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to be of relevance to
this has nothing to do with you
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informal I know the answer
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slang to launch or deliver an attack on, esp to discharge a firearm at someone
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informal (foll by of) refusing to take part or be involved (in)
noun
Spelling
See of 2.
Synonym Usage
Have, hold, occupy, own, possess mean to be, in varying degrees, in possession of something. Have, being the most general word, admits of the widest range of application: to have money, rights, discretion, a disease, a glimpse, an idea; to have a friend's umbrella. To hold is to have in one's grasp or one's control, but not necessarily as one's own: to hold stakes. To occupy is to hold and use, but not necessarily by any right of ownership: to occupy a chair, a house, a position. To own is to have the full rights of property in a thing, which, however, another may be holding or enjoying: to own a house that is rented to tenants. Possess is a more formal equivalent for own and suggests control, and often occupation, of large holdings: to possess vast territories.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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havesimple
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hassimple
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have hadperfect
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has hadperfect
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am havingprogressive
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are havingprogressive
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is havingprogressive
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have been havingperfect progressive
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has been havingperfect progressive
Past
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hadsimple
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had hadperfect
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was havingprogressive
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were havingprogressive
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had been havingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of have
First recorded before 900; Middle English haven, habben, Old English habban; cognate with German haben, Old Norse hafa, Gothic haban “to have”; perhaps akin to heave
Explanation
To have something means you possess it somehow. You may have a big house or have a lot of freckles on your nose. English gives us a lot of ways to have — this is a common word. You can have brown eyes and black hair, have the flu, have a red bike, and have strong feelings about football. You might have doubts about whether having a party at your house is a good idea. Adults can have babies. Babies have parents and blankies. You could have a good time or a bad time while you're having friends over for a visit.
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.
See Examples For:
“We have implemented additional safeguards, including enhanced monitoring, strengthened access controls and further third-party review of our security practices,” Betaneli added.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
But when the Canadian government rejected its plan to sell them to China over concerns about animal welfare, the park's operations said they would have to be euthanised.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
They have pleaded not guilty and denied the accusations through their attorneys, who declined to comment on the new allegations leveled in court Friday by prosecutors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
"We continue to engage in the firefight, and have additional resources coming," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
Most people have natural protection against the bacteria that causes HD.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
It has since grown to thousands of attendees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
Chicago's Shedd Aquarium has seen the most deaths.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
Officials said they have not yet uncovered any evidence that the information has been made public.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
The size of the blaze has twice forced officials to close the I-5 highway, an important route that runs the length of the US West Coast.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
By late 1944, however, Father Julien has abandoned the charade.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
The district also later reported that about 2,000 student assessment records had been posted, including those of 60 current students.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
Teymouri said while reviewing video evidence in the case, she had to watch the footage on mute due to the near “constant screaming” of children in the background.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
"I've had times in my life when I haven't had that, through illness, and it's brought up that silly, sensitive soul."
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
During a search of the home last week, police also found the cremated remains of another surrogate child that had been mailed to the house; the baby died shortly after birth in Florida, Teymouri said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
They’d left a life in Japan and had no idea what they were doing in Taiwan in the first place.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
The trucks have a perception system that adjusts quickly without having to slam the brakes and sees and avoids potential hazards early.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
A couple of hundred fans gathered beneath the market's Victorian roof, some having made the trip specifically for the event while others stopped to see what the fuss was about.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
There are roughly 45 S&P 500 companies deemed as having material exposure to artificial intelligence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
"Everybody should be in there learning, having fun, looking forward to their weekend, and it's just vacant," she said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
But he felt his teeth close around something—a tail, perhaps, though he could not remember humans having tails.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
