possess
verb (used with object)
to have as belonging to one; have as property; own.
had possessed
-
past perfectof possess.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
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.
In fact, in the last 20 years, 1,047 teams had possessed the football with a lead and less than 10 seconds left.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
She didn’t have a computer, and even if she had possessed one, living in rural Whatcom County prevented her from accessing the internet at home.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 26, 2024
First I investigated the possibility that Shi’s lab had possessed a virus close enough to SARS-CoV-2 to be its progenitor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 8, 2023
“No big deal, but it was really fun,” Yang said, adding that Obama had possessed “175 letters from Lin-Manuel Miranda begging the president to attend a performance of ‘Hamilton.’
From New York Times ● Jan. 29, 2023
If my father had possessed the words, he would have said the whole enterprise was bad hubris.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
