have it

Idioms  

1. Receive or learn something, as in I have it on the best authority that he's running again . [Late 1600s]

2. Possess a solution, understand, as in Is this the new phone number? Do I have it straight? or I think I have it now . [Mid-1800s]

3. Take it, as in There's some ice cream left; go ahead and have it . This usage is always put as an imperative. [Second half of 1300s]

4. Have the victory, win, as in We've counted the votes and the nays have it . The related expressions have it over someone or have it all over someone mean “to be superior to someone.” For example, Jane has it all over Mary when it comes to reading aloud . [Early 1900s]

5. let someone have it . Give a beating, scolding, or punishment. For example, When she gets home Dad will let her have it . [Mid-1800s]

6. have it off . Have sexual intercourse, as in The two dogs were having it off in the backyard . [ Colloquial ; early 1900s] Also see the subsequent idioms beginning with have it ; not have it .

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Example Sentences

It was a bit of a carnage, but you wouldn't have it any other way.

From BBC

She delayed a “60 Minutes” segment on the government’s use of an El Salvador prison to detain undocumented migrants for more reporting, only to have it air with minor changes.

From Los Angeles Times

“It was important to me in Season 1 for Kay to come into the present day very ambitious, wanting to have it all,” Sarnoff explains.

From Los Angeles Times

Mom already got me most of the running stuff I wanted—better running tanks, a holder for my cell phone because she wants me to have it when I run alone, and two good pairs of shorts—but a running store gift certificate is a step up from a duplicate Emily Dickinson book.

From Literature

“I've got math tutoring this summer, OK? I have it later this afternoon, and I didn’t do the problems I was supposed to.”

From Literature