possession

[ puh-zesh-uhn ]

/ pəˈzɛʃ ən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR possession ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act or fact of possessing.

the state of being possessed.

ownership.

Law. actual holding or occupancy, either with or without rights of ownership.

a thing possessed: He packed all his possessions into one trunk.

possessions, property or wealth.

a territorial dominion of a state.

Sports.

physical control of the ball or puck by a player or team: He didn't have full possession when he was tackled.
the right of a team to put the ball into play: They had possession after the other team sank a free throw.

control over oneself, one's mind, etc.

domination, actuation, or obsession by a feeling, idea, etc.

the feeling or idea itself.

Nearby words

possess, possessed, possessed by, possessed, the, possessedly, possession, possession is nine points of the law, possession order, possessive, possessive adjective, possessive pronoun

Origin of possession

1300–50; Middle English < Latin possessiōn- (stem of possessiō) occupancy, act of occupying, equivalent to possess(us), past participle of possidēre to have in one's control, occupy (and, in active sense, past participle of posīdere to seize upon) (*pots-, akin to posse to be able + -sidēre, combining form of sedēre to sit¹; cf. host¹) + -iōn- -ion

SYNONYMS FOR possession

1 tenure, occupation.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR possession ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsnon·pos·ses·sion, noun

Synonym study

1, 3. See custody.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for possession

“We were finding people in possession of thousands of paper prescriptions,” he said.
No More Paper Prescriptions: Docs Fight Fraud by Going Electronic|Dale Eisinger|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If we begin to see the other as our possession and commodity, our shoe, the shadow of our shadow, is there ever a happy outcome?
Owning Up to Possession’s Downside|Samantha Harvey|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
By the same token, maybe we need different words for possession.
Owning Up to Possession’s Downside|Samantha Harvey|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Power is a visitor to, not a possession of, those it empowers.
David Mitchell’s ‘The Bone Clocks’ Is Fun But Mostly Empty Calories|William O’Connor|September 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST

When detectives raided her store and found the silk in her possession, they arrested her.
Meet 'The Queen of Thieves' Marm Mandelbaum, New York City's First Mob Boss|J. North Conway|September 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Do you know whether Marina still has them in her possession?
Warren Commission (1 of 26): Hearings Vol. I (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
As a political result it would have secured to me the possession of the throne.
Hortense, Makers of History Series|John S. C. Abbott
Payment will be made easy; a good deed; and possession given at any time from the first of November to the first of May next.
Toronto of Old|Henry Scadding
An order of Insects (comprising Bees, Ants, &c.) characterised by the possession of four membranous wings.
The Ancient Life History of the Earth|Henry Alleyne Nicholson
One of them is now in the possession of the Governor, and tolerably well reconciled to his new master.
A Narrative of the Expedition to Botany Bay|Watkin Tench

British Dictionary definitions for possession

possession

/ (pəˈzɛʃən) /

noun

the act of possessing or state of being possessedin possession of the crown

anything that is owned or possessed

(plural) wealth or property

the state of being controlled or dominated by or as if by evil spirits

the physical control or occupancy of land, property, etc, whether or not accompanied by ownershipto take possession of a house

a territory subject to a foreign state or to a sovereign princecolonial possessions

sport control of the ball, puck, etc, as exercised by a player or teamhe lost possession in his own half

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for possession

possession

mid-14c., "act or fact of possessing, a taking possession, occupation," also "thing possessed, that which is possessed," from Old French possession "fact of having and holding; what is possessed;" also "demonic possession," and directly from Latin possessionem (nominative possessio), noun of action from past participle stem of possidere "to possess" (see possess). Legal property sense is earliest; demonic sense first recorded 1580s. Phrase possession is nine (or eleven) points of the law is out of a supposed 10 (or 12). With eleven from 1640s; with nine from 1690s.

possession

noun

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Origin of possession

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for possession

British Dictionary definitions for possession

possession

noun

Word Origin and History for possession

possession