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

PSA said the items weren’t in its possession at the time of the burglary, and it had learned of the theft from the shipping carrier.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

Tarik Muharemovic: Calm in possession but visitors' set-up left him with no-one to mark at times.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

The Chargers forced a punt on the Chiefs’ next possession and traded interceptions in the second quarter before giving up an 80-yard drive that ended with a two-yard run by Walker.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026

Authorities in Texas arrested a man named Kendrick Beaird for unlawful possession of a firearm.

From Slate ● Oct. 18, 2026

Harsnett had been much influenced by Reginald Scot, and had set out to prove that cases of supposed demonic possession were in fact deliberate frauds.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Callum said he ended up selling possessions and taking out loans to pay for the work.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

For the third time in nine years, she’d driven to the city from Austin, Texas, her worldly possessions stuffed into her parents’ 2012 Cadillac SUV and her sights set on becoming a star.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

He kept all his possessions in two sacks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Over the years, families have reported that their homes and possessions had been destroyed by the floods.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

They were extremely generous with their few possessions, and were not obsessed with success or wealth.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

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