own
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or belonging to oneself or itself (usually used after a possessive to emphasize the idea of ownership, interest, or relation conveyed by the possessive).
He spent only his own money.
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(used as an intensifier to indicate oneself as the sole agent of some activity or action, preceded by a possessive).
He insists on being his own doctor.
verb (used with object)
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owns,
present (3rd person singular)
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owned,
past participle, past
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owning
present participle
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to have or hold as one's own; possess.
They own several homes.
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to acknowledge or admit.
to own a fault.
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to acknowledge as one's own; recognize as having full claim, authority, power, dominion, etc..
He owned his child before the entire assembly. They owned the king as their lord.
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to totally defeat, gain control over, or dominate in a competition.
I totally owned the last two levels of the game.
He owned the season from beginning to end and took the world title.
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to take over a (a computer system, program, or computer) without authorization.
The network has been owned by a hacker.
verb (used without object)
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owns,
present (3rd person singular)
-
owned,
past participle, past
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owning
present participle
idioms
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get one's own back, to get revenge and thereby a sense of personal satisfaction, as for a slight or a previous setback; get even with somebody or something.
He saw the award as a way of getting his own back for all the snubs by his colleagues.
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of one's own, belonging to oneself.
She had never had a room of her own.
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come into one's own,
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to take possession of that which is due or owed one.
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to receive the recognition that one's abilities merit.
She finally came into her own as a sculptor of the first magnitude.
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on one's own,
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by dint of one's own efforts, resources, or sense of responsibility; independently.
Because she spoke the language, she got around the country very well on her own.
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living or functioning without dependence on others; independent.
My son's been on his own for several years.
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hold one's own,
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to maintain one's position or condition.
The stock market seems to be holding its own these days.
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to be equal to the opposition.
He can hold his own in any fight.
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determiner
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(intensifier)
John's own idea
your own mother
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( as pronoun )
I'll use my own
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on behalf of oneself or in relation to oneself
he is his own worst enemy
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to become fulfilled
she really came into her own when she got divorced
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to receive what is due to one
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informal to have revenge
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to maintain one's situation or position, esp in spite of opposition or difficulty
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without help
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by oneself; alone
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verb
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(tr) to have as one's possession
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to confess or admit; acknowledge
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rare (tr; takes a clause as object) to concede
I own that you are right
Synonym Usage
See have.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ownsimple
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ownssimple
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have ownedperfect
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has ownedperfect
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am owningprogressive
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are owningprogressive
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is owningprogressive
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have been owningperfect progressive
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has been owningperfect progressive
Past
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ownedsimple
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had ownedperfect
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was owningprogressive
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were owningprogressive
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had been owningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of own
First recorded before 900; (adjective) Middle English owen, Old English āgen (cognate with German eigen, Old Norse eigenn ), originally the past participle of āgan “to possess” ( see owe); (verb) Middle English ownen, Old English āgnian, āhnian, derivative of āgen
Explanation
If you own something, it belongs to you. You can use the verb own to describe possession of any kind of property, ranging from a saucepan to a fancy mansion. If something can be bought, it can be owned. You wouldn’t say that you own people or intangible objects. But you might own a car, for example, and if you’re lucky, you might own a lot of really cool shoes. Own can also be an adjective describing something that belongs to a particular person, like your own bedroom, or your own mind. If you admit to something, you "own up to it," admitting the responsibility belongs to you.
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:
Different types of workouts also confer their own benefits when it comes to health and weight maintenance.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
Torfaen council said it was unaware of the EU data but its own air quality monitoring showed "elevated particulate concentrations".
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
Jess Pryles, a live-fire cook and the author of “Prime Cuts,” offered her own lyrical description: “Wagyu gives a buttery richness and so easily melts over your tongue.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
Nearly one in five teens already own a Cash App card, Templeton said, and the company allows users to customize their cards with colors, self-made illustrations and glow-in-the-dark features.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026
When I have my own property, I’m going to welcome everyone.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
"It's going to just be amazing. The sights, the sounds, the smells. It's all going to be just wonderful," said Neva Hoover, 58, from Ohio, who owns of an auto body repair shop.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
It’s not clear whether Charter would like to shed its deal with the Dodgers organization, which owns SportsNet LA.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
The National Trust, which owns the land, was "reviewing" the number of animals grazing the land to ensure visitor safety, animal welfare and the area's ecological health.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
When someone proposes an economic campaign against a publicly traded company, I ask who owns the stock.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
“Arturo, the city owns the property. And the city board members will vote.”
From "The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora" by Pablo Cartaya
Individual firms can own up to 20% of an NBA team, according to Sports Business Journal, and 30% of a single team can be owned by private-equity firms.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Its US operations are now 81% owned by a consortium of investors, while Bytdance maintains a 19% stake.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
The former is owned by broadcaster Sinclair, while the latter is operated by rival Gray Media.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The situation has been complicated by the arrival of the Dana White-fronted Zuffa Boxing, which is jointly owned by Sela and TKO Group Holdings.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
It was, in many instances, the most powerful mask she owned, more powerful than her true face.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
If you were born in the UK in the mid-1990s you've about a 25% chance of owning your own home, as this chart shows.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Though she didn’t go into the details of her own experience, merely owning it drew a conflicting response.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
The regulation, announced Monday, is expected to spur a surge in applications from people whose convictions automatically barred them from owning firearms, the Justice Department said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
About 30 million Americans are barred from owning guns because of their criminal convictions, according to the department.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
The nearest Salvador had ever come to his dream of owning a car was to acquire an old rusting set of truck wheels, which he set tenderly behind the house.
From "Lupita Mañana" by Patricia Beatty
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
