have

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   To possess, own.

   • I have a house and a car.
2. 2

   To hold, as something at someone's disposal.

   • Look what I have here—a frog I found on the street!
   • Do you have the key?
3. 3

   To include as a part, ingredient, or feature.

   • The stove has a handle. The shirt has sleeves.
   • The words cow and dog have three letters.
   • A government has three branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial.
4. ›+ 33 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      Used to state the existence or presence of someone in a specified relationship with the…

      Used to state the existence or presence of someone in a specified relationship with the subject.

      • I have two sisters.
      • She doesn’t have any friends.
      • I have a really mean boss.
   2. 5

      To consume or use up (a particular substance or resource, especially food or drink).

      • I have breakfast at six o'clock.
      • You've already had five drinks!
      • She's had more than enough time already.
   3. 6

      To undertake or perform (an action or activity).

      • Can I have a look at that?
      • He's having a tantrum about it.
      • I’m going to have a bath now.
   4. 7

      To be scheduled to attend, undertake or participate in.

      • What class do you have right now? I have English.
      • Fred won’t be able to come to the party; he has a meeting that day.
      • I have a lot of work to do.
   5. 8

      To experience, go through, undergo.

      • We had a hard year last year, with the locust swarms and all that.
      • He had surgery on his hip yesterday.
      • I’m having the time of my life!
   6. 9

      To be afflicted with, suffer from.

      • He had a cold last week.
   7. 10

      Used in forming the perfect aspect.

      • I have already eaten today.
      • Mom's gone real mad, she has.
      • The universe is expanding and has been since its beginning.
   8. 11

      Used as an interrogative verb before a pronoun to form a tag question, echoing a previous…

      Used as an interrogative verb before a pronoun to form a tag question, echoing a previous use of 'have' as an auxiliary verb or, in certain cases, main verb. (For further discussion, see the appendix English tag questions.)

      • They haven’t eaten dinner yet, have they?
      • Your wife hasn’t been reading that nonsense, has she?
      • He has some money, hasn’t he?
   9. 12

      See have to.

      • I have to go.
   10. 13

       To give birth to.

       • The couple always wanted to have children.
       • My wife is having the baby right now!
       • My mother had me when she was 25.
   11. 14

       To obtain.

       • The substance you describe can't be had at any price.
       • Out there is a fortune waiting to be had / You think I'll let it go you're mad / You've got another thing comin'
   12. 15

       To engage in sexual intercourse with.

       • He’s always bragging about how many women he’s had.
       • Tame midweek stress the fun way. Have each other before dinner to reconnect after a long day.
   13. 16

       To accept as a romantic partner.

       • Despite my protestations of love, she would not have me.
   14. 17

       To cause to, by a command, request or invitation.

       • They had me feed their dog while they were out of town.
       • Her very boyfriend is the person the criminal has do most of her dirty deeds.
       • The floor has had oil dropped all over it.
   15. 18

       To cause to be.

       • He had him arrested for trespassing.
       • I'd better have my watch repaired today: tomorrow I have to have my hair cut before having pictures taken for my passport.
       • The lecture’s ending had the entire audience in tears.
   16. 19

       To be affected by an occurrence. (Used in supplying a topic that is a small clause.)

       • The hospital had several patients contract pneumonia last week.
       • I’ve had three people today tell me my hair looks nice.
   17. 20

       To depict as being.

       • Their stories differed; he said he’d been at work when the incident occurred, but her statement had him at home that entire evening.
       • Anton Rogan, 8, was one of the runners-up in the Tick Tock Box short story competition, not Anton Rogers as we had it.
   18. 21

       To defeat in a fight

       To defeat in a fight; take.

       • I could have him!
   19. 22

       To inflict punishment or retribution on.

       • When we did a rerecorded version for Top of the Pops, the Musicians' Union bloke said, "If I think you're making strings sounds out of a synthesiser, I'm going to have you. Video Killed the Radio Star is putting musicians out of business."
       • You broke the window! Teacher’ll have you for that!
   20. 23

       To be able to speak (a language).

       • I have no German.
   21. 24

       To feel or be (especially painfully) aware of.

       • Dan certainly has arms today, probably from scraping paint off four columns the day before.
   22. 25

       To trick, to deceive.

       • I bought a laptop online but it never arrived. I think I've been had!
       • You had me alright! I never would have thought that was just a joke.
   23. 26

       To allow

       To allow; to tolerate.

       • The child screamed incessantly for his mother to buy him a toy, but she wasn't having any of it.
       • I asked my dad if I could go to the concert this Thursday, but he wouldn't have it since it's a school night.
       • “ You're a very naughty boy. If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times. I won't have you chasing the geese!”
   24. 27

       To believe, buy, be taken in by.

       • I made up an excuse as to why I was out so late, but my wife wasn't having any of it.
   25. 28

       To host someone

       To host someone; to take in as a guest.

       • Thank you for having me!
   26. 29

       To get a reading, measurement, or result from an instrument or calculation.

       • What do you have for problem two?
       • I have two contacts on my scope.
   27. 30

       To consider a court proceeding that has been completed

       To consider a court proceeding that has been completed; to begin deliberations on a case.

       • We’ll schedule closing arguments for Thursday, and the jury will have the case by that afternoon.
   28. 31

       To make an observation of (a bird species).

       • For some reason, "I had a Freckled Duck today" never seems to work as a pick-up line.
   29. 32

       To capture or actively hold someone's attention or interest.

       • 1977-1980, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure Thurs nite I went to see Lou Reed […] and Lou, oh God, he completely had me. I was lost at the foot of a god.
   30. 33

       To grasp the meaning of

       To grasp the meaning of; comprehend.

       • Ah! Now I have it!
   31. 34

       A wealthy or privileged person.

       • A good credit rating can mean the difference between being a have or a have not.
       • While these stories serve to make us conscious of the implications of being a “have” or a “have-not,” as with all good literature, they do much more than that. They provide a glimpse into lives that we might never encounter elsewhere.
   32. 35

       One who has some (contextually specified) thing.

   33. 36

       A fraud or deception

       A fraud or deception; something misleading.

       • They advertise it as a great deal, but I think it's a bit of a have.

The neighborhood

• synonymsleep with
• synonymtake
• synonymcopulate with
• neighborpartake
• neighborauxiliary verb
• neighborpast tense
• neighborperfect tense