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
-
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,
-
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
-
to hold or entertain in the mind
to have an idea
-
to possess a knowledge or understanding of
I have no German
-
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
-
See done
-
informal
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to be exhausted, defeated, or killed
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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
-
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:
American football team the Atlanta Falcons have ruffled feathers with their new logo, which instantly drew mocking comparisons with imagery from Adolf Hitler's Germany.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
Many Americans are ill-prepared for retirement, with the median amount that workers have saved for retirement at just $955, according to the National Institute of Retirement Security.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026
The stewards of Major League Baseball have spent all year trying to convince fans that a World Series like this one was all but impossible.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
"We are convinced that we have the right long-term strategy addressing these challenges," Samuelsson said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
Surviving that, he should have died of shock soon after reaching Cavendish.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
Melania Trump has since secured the "reunifications" of 34 children separated from their parents by the war, her office said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
“Find out your essential spending versus your discretionary spending. See what you can cut out and what has to be there.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026
No team with a bottom-third payroll has won a title since the Florida Marlins in 2003.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
But before that it has an image problem to overcome, with many comparing it to "voluntary drowning".
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
Carville resident Stanley Stein, who has spent years raising awareness and advocating on behalf of those with leprosy, is thrilled with the publicity, and Joey is a powerful spokeswoman.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Rescue operations had yet to begin when AFP arrived, with the site hemmed in by high-rise buildings, complicating efforts.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
“That’s when I found that there were other women that had started even though they were still nursing,” she says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
The announcement comes a year after the Slovenian-born former model stunned the world by revealing she had established a back channel of communication with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
Eventually, Cicero settled in the country east of Dallas and, for decades, had no idea that Brock was living nearby.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
When Aunt J taught him, she had no idea how well he’d take to cooking.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
But having to hold your breath for long periods while battling with short sticks at the bottom of a pool builds a unique team spirit, Malaysian player Hui Chin Teoh told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
If you retire without actually having enough money in retirement, you may have to severely cut back on your spending in retirement, especially as people are living longer and retirement can now last decades.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026
And having just watched his new expansion team fail to win a game in its first season, he proposed Brock recruit other models to be cheerleaders and liven things up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
"You can think of the robot as having two independent muscles," Raman says.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
“We’re having an adventure. We’re all good friends.”
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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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.
