possession

American  

[puh-zesh-uhn] / pəˈzɛʃ ən /

noun

• possessions
  plural

1. 

   the act or fact of possessing.

   Synonyms:

   occupation, tenure

2. the state of being possessed.

3. ownership.

4. Law. actual holding or occupancy, either with or without rights of ownership.

5. a thing possessed.

   He packed all his possessions into one trunk.

6. possessions, property or wealth.

7. a territorial dominion of a state.

8. Sports.

   1. physical control of the ball or puck by a player or team.

      He didn't have full possession when he was tackled.

   2. the right of a team to put the ball into play.

      They had possession after the other team sank a free throw.

9. control over oneself, one's mind, etc.

10. domination, actuation, or obsession by a feeling, idea, etc.

11. the feeling or idea itself.

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possession British  

/ pəˈzɛʃən /

noun

1. the act of possessing or state of being possessed

   in possession of the crown

2. anything that is owned or possessed

3. (plural) wealth or property

4. the state of being controlled or dominated by or as if by evil spirits

5. the physical control or occupancy of land, property, etc, whether or not accompanied by ownership

   to take possession of a house

6. a territory subject to a foreign state or to a sovereign prince

   colonial possessions

7. sport control of the ball, puck, etc, as exercised by a player or team

   he lost possession in his own half

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Synonym Usage

See custody.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonpossession
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• possessions
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of possession

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Latin possessiōn-, stem of possessiō “occupancy, act of occupying,” from possess(us) “occupied” (past participle of possidēre “to have in one's control, occupy,” from pos-, combining form of pot(is) “able” + -sidēre, combining form of sedēre “to sit”) + -iō -ion; see also host ¹, sit ¹

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Explanation

A possession is something that belongs to you. If you've got a special rubber ducky, that’s one of your possessions, and it may even be your prized possession. Possession is all about control: if you have possession of something, you own it, or have your hands on it. If your house keys are in your possession, you know where they are. In soccer being in possession means having control of the ball; in hockey, it’s having your stick on the puck. A possession can also be a territory controlled by another government, as Puerto Rico is a possession of the United States.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

possession possessions

Receiving the first possession now comes with a different upside: the first crack at possessing the ball again if the two teams are still tied.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

My most treasured possession belonging to Dad are his movie scripts, leather-bound.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

On the ensuing possession, Stafford completed a 14-yard pass to Adams and, one play later, found Nacua for 16 yards and then Adams for 15.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

"It was through interrogation work that investigators were able to get the receiver of the stolen goods to admit that he had indeed taken possession of the paintings."

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

The question was, how had they ended up in the possession of Stavros Sinclair?

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

He kept all his possessions in two sacks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

“The physical possessions don’t tell the story,” Winterich said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

She even made sure to itemize possessions in her will and distribute them to friends and/or family.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 27, 2026

After failing to score on their first three possessions that included their first lost fumble of the season, the Bruins’ offense reeled off touchdowns on their next three possessions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026

Thou shalt claim no earthly possessions, save thy robes, ring, and journal.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

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Related Words

• custody

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