possession

American  

[puh-zesh-uhn] / pəˈzɛʃ ən /

noun

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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Related Words

See custody.

Other Word Forms

• nonpossession noun

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; host ¹, sit ¹

Example Sentences

The Patriots scored touchdowns on each of their first six possessions before mercifully pulling their starters in the third quarter.

From The Wall Street Journal

They were flat and flat-footed from the beginning, surrendering a 75-yard touchdown pass on Houston’s first possession and a 43-yard touchdown pass on the second.

From Los Angeles Times

Senegal, fresh from beating Botswana 3-0 and seen as perhaps the biggest threat to Morocco's chances of winning the title on home soil, had more possession and more chances.

From Barron's

Out of possession, if City lose the ball, numerous players in the centre of the pitch prevent opponents from progressing down the middle.

From BBC

But they held on for just a second clean sheet of the season despite Newcastle having 67 percent possession and 16 shots on goal.

From Barron's

Related Words

• custody