have

- 5 dictionary results

have

[hav; unstressed huh

v, uh

v; for 26 usually haf]

verb and auxiliary verb, present singular 1st person have, 2nd have or (Archaic

) hast, 3rd has or (Archaic

) hath, present plural have; past singular 1st person had, 2nd had or (Archaic

) hadst or had⋅dest, 3rd had, past plural had; past participle had; present participle hav⋅ing, noun

Use have in a Sentence

–verb (used with object)

1.	to possess; own; hold for use; contain: He has property. The work has an index.

2.	to hold, possess, or accept in some relation, as of kindred or relative position: He wanted to marry her, but she wouldn't have him.

3.	to get, receive, or take: to have a part in a play; to have news.

4.	to experience, undergo, or endure, as joy or pain: Have a good time. He had a heart attack last year.

5.	to hold in mind, sight, etc.: to have doubts.

6.	to cause to, as by command or invitation: Have him come here at five.

7.	to be related to or be in a certain relation to: She has three cousins. He has a kind boss.

8.	to show or exhibit in action or words: She had the crust to refuse my invitation.

9.	to be identified or distinguished by; possess the characteristic of: He has a mole on his left cheek. This wood has a silky texture.

10.	to engage in or carry on: to have a talk; to have a fight.

11.	to partake of; eat or drink: He had cake and coffee for dessert.

12.	to permit or allow: I will not have any talking during the concert.

13.	to assert, maintain, or represent as being: Rumor has it that she's going to be married.

14.	to know, understand, or be skilled in: to have neither Latin nor Greek.

15.	to beget or give birth to: to have a baby.

16.	to hold an advantage over: He has you there.

17.	to outwit, deceive, or cheat: We realized we'd been had by an expert con artist.

18.	to control or possess through bribery; bribe.

19.	to gain possession of: There is none to be had at that price.

20.	to hold or put in a certain position or situation: The problem had me stumped. They had him where they wanted him.

21.	to exercise, display, or make use of: Have pity on him.

22.	to invite or cause to be present as a companion or guest: We had Evelyn and Everett over for dinner. He has his bodyguard with him at all times.

23.	to engage in sexual intercourse with.

–verb (used without object)

24.	to be in possession of money or wealth: There are some who have and some who have not.

–auxiliary verb

25.	(used with a past participle to form perfect tenses): She has gone. It would have been an enjoyable party if he hadn't felt downcast.

26.	to be required, compelled, or under obligation (fol. by infinitival to, with or without a main verb): I have to leave now. I didn't want to study, but I had to.

–noun

27.	Usually, haves. an individual or group that has wealth, social position, or other material benefits (contrasted with have-not ).

—Verb phrase

28.	have at, to go at vigorously; attack: First he decided to have at his correspondence.

—Idioms

29.	had better or best, ought to: You'd better go now, it's late.

30.	had rather. rather (def. 7).

31.	have done, to cease; finish: It seemed that they would never have done with their struggle.

32.

have had it,

a.	to become weary of or disgusted with whatever one has been doing: I've been working like a fool, but now I've had it.

b.	to suffer defeat; fail: He was a great pitcher, but after this season he'll have had it.

c.	to have missed a last opportunity: He refused to take any more excuses and told them all that they'd had it.

d.	to become unpopular or passé: Quiz shows have had it.

33.	have it coming, to merit or deserve: When they lost their fortune, everyone said that they had it coming.

34.	have it in for, to plan or wish to do something unpleasant to; hold a grudge against: She has it in for intelligent students who fail to use their abilities.

35.	have it out, to come to an understanding or decision through discussion or combat: We've been in disagreement about this for a long time, and I think we should have it out, once and for all.

36.

have on,

a.	to be clothed in; be wearing: She had on a new dress.

b.	to have arranged or planned: What do you have on for Christmas?

c.	to tease (a person); make the butt of a joke. Compare put (def. 35).

37.

have to do with,

a.	to be connected or associated with: Your lack of confidence probably had a lot to do with your not getting the job.

b.	to deal with; be concerned with: I will have nothing to do with their personal squabbles.

38.	to have and to hold, to possess legally; have permanent possession of: The house, with the mortgage finally paid, was at last their own to have and to hold.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME haven, habben, OE habban; c. G haben, ON hafa, Goth haban to have; perh. akin to heave

Synonyms:
1. Have, hold, occupy, own, possess mean to be, in varying degrees, in possession of something. Have, being the most general word, admits of the widest range of application: to have money, rights, discretion, a disease, a glimpse, an idea; to have a friend's umbrella. To hold is to have in one's grasp or one's control, but not necessarily as one's own: to hold stakes. To occupy is to hold and use, but not necessarily by any right of ownership: to occupy a chair, a house, a position. To own is to have the full rights of property in a thing, which, however, another may be holding or enjoying: to own a house that is rented to tenants. Possess is a more formal equivalent for own and suggests control, and often occupation, of large holdings: to possess vast territories. 3. obtain, gain, secure, procure.

Antonyms:
1. lack.

Usage note:
See of.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To have

have (hāv)

v. had (hād), hav·ing, has (hāz)

v. tr.

1. To be in possession of: already had a car.
2. To possess as a characteristic, quality, or function: has a beard; had a great deal of energy.
3. To possess or contain as a constituent part: a car that has air bags.
4. To come into possession of; acquire: Not one copy of the book was to be had in the entire town.
5. To receive; get: I had a letter from my cousin.
6. To accept; take: I'll have the peas instead of the spinach.
7. To suffer from: have defective vision.
8. To be subject to the experience of: had a difficult time last winter.
9. To cause to do something, as by persuasion or compulsion: had my assistant run the errand.
10. To cause to be in a specified place or state: had the guests in the dining room; had everyone fascinated.
11. To place at a disadvantage: Your opponent in the debate had you on every issue.
12. Informal To get the better of, especially by trickery or deception: They realized too late that they'd been had by a swindler.
13. Informal To influence by dishonest means; bribe: an incorruptible official who could not be had.
14. To procreate (offspring): wanted to have a child.
15. To give birth to; bear: She's going to have a baby.
To occupy a particular relation to: had many disciples.
To possess knowledge of or facility in: has very little Spanish.
To hold in the mind; entertain: had doubts about their loyalty.
To use or exhibit in action: have compassion.
1. To come into possession of; acquire: Not one copy of the book was to be had in the entire town.
2. To receive; get: I had a letter from my cousin.
3. To accept; take: I'll have the peas instead of the spinach.
4. To suffer from: have defective vision.
5. To be subject to the experience of: had a difficult time last winter.
6. To cause to do something, as by persuasion or compulsion: had my assistant run the errand.
7. To cause to be in a specified place or state: had the guests in the dining room; had everyone fascinated.
8. To place at a disadvantage: Your opponent in the debate had you on every issue.
9. Informal To get the better of, especially by trickery or deception: They realized too late that they'd been had by a swindler.
10. Informal To influence by dishonest means; bribe: an incorruptible official who could not be had.
11. To procreate (offspring): wanted to have a child.
12. To give birth to; bear: She's going to have a baby.
1. To suffer from: have defective vision.
2. To be subject to the experience of: had a difficult time last winter.
3. To cause to do something, as by persuasion or compulsion: had my assistant run the errand.
4. To cause to be in a specified place or state: had the guests in the dining room; had everyone fascinated.
5. To place at a disadvantage: Your opponent in the debate had you on every issue.
6. Informal To get the better of, especially by trickery or deception: They realized too late that they'd been had by a swindler.
7. Informal To influence by dishonest means; bribe: an incorruptible official who could not be had.
8. To procreate (offspring): wanted to have a child.
9. To give birth to; bear: She's going to have a baby.
1. To cause to do something, as by persuasion or compulsion: had my assistant run the errand.
2. To cause to be in a specified place or state: had the guests in the dining room; had everyone fascinated.
3. To place at a disadvantage: Your opponent in the debate had you on every issue.
4. Informal To get the better of, especially by trickery or deception: They realized too late that they'd been had by a swindler.
5. Informal To influence by dishonest means; bribe: an incorruptible official who could not be had.
6. To procreate (offspring): wanted to have a child.
7. To give birth to; bear: She's going to have a baby.
To permit; allow: I won't have that kind of behavior in my house.
To carry on, perform, or execute: have an argument.
1. To place at a disadvantage: Your opponent in the debate had you on every issue.
2. Informal To get the better of, especially by trickery or deception: They realized too late that they'd been had by a swindler.
3. Informal To influence by dishonest means; bribe: an incorruptible official who could not be had.
4. To procreate (offspring): wanted to have a child.
5. To give birth to; bear: She's going to have a baby.
1. To procreate (offspring): wanted to have a child.
2. To give birth to; bear: She's going to have a baby.
To partake of: have lunch.
To be obliged to; must: We simply have to get there on time.
To engage in sexual intercourse with.

v. aux.
Used with a past participle to form the present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect tenses indicating completed action: The troublemaker has gone for good. I regretted that I had lost my temper. They will have finished by the time we arrive.
n.

One enjoying especially material wealth: "Almost overnight, there was a new and widespread hostility on the part of the haves toward the have-nots" (Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr.)

Phrasal Verbs:

have at

To attack.

have on

To wear: had on red shoes.
To be scheduled: We have a dinner party on for Friday.

Phrasal Verb(s):
have atTo attack.
have on

To wear: had on red shoes.
To be scheduled: We have a dinner party on for Friday.

Idiom(s):
had better/best Usage Problem To be wise or obliged to; should or must: He had better do what he is told. You had best bring a raincoat in this weather.

Idiom(s):
have done withTo stop; cease: Have done with your quibbling!

Idiom(s):
have had it Informal

To have endured all that one can: I've had it with their delays.
To be in a state beyond remedy, repair, or salvage: That coat has had it.
To have done everything that is possible or that will be permitted.

Idiom(s):
have it

To assert; maintain: Rumor has it that he quit.
To think and act with respect to (something being considered): Have it your way.
To gain a victory in a voice vote: The ayes have it.

Idiom(s):
have it in for (someone)To intend to harm, especially because of a grudge.

Idiom(s):
have it outTo settle decisively, especially by means of an argument or a discussion.

Idiom(s):
have (something) comingTo deserve what one receives: You had that reprimand coming for a very long time.

Idiom(s):
have to do withTo be concerned or associated with.

[Middle English haven, from Old English habban; see kap- in Indo-European roots.]

Usage Note: The idioms had better and had best resemble an auxiliary verb in that their form never changes to show person or tense and that they cannot follow another verb in a phrase. In informal speech, people tend to omit had, especially with had better, as in You better do it. In formal contexts and in writing, however, had or its contraction must be preserved: You had better do it or You'd better do it. See Usage Note at rather.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Have

Have\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Had; p. pr. & vb. n. Having. Indic. present, I have, thou hast, he has; we, ye, they have.] [OE. haven, habben, AS. habben (imperf. h[ae]fde, p. p. geh[ae]fd); akin to OS. hebbian, D. hebben, OFries, hebba, OHG. hab?n, G. haben, Icel. hafa, Sw. hafva, Dan. have, Goth. haban, and prob. to L. habere, whence F. avoir. Cf. Able, Avoirdupois, Binnacle, Habit.]

1. To hold in possession or control; to own; as, he has a farm.

2. To possess, as something which appertains to, is connected with, or affects, one.

The earth hath bubbles, as the water has. --Shak.

He had a fever late. --Keats.

3. To accept possession of; to take or accept.

Break thy mind to me in broken English; wilt thou have me? --Shak.

4. To get possession of; to obtain; to get. --Shak.

5. To cause or procure to be; to effect; to exact; to desire; to require.

It had the church accurately described to me. --Sir W. Scott.

Wouldst thou have me turn traitor also? --Ld. Lytton.

6. To bear, as young; as, she has just had a child.

7. To hold, regard, or esteem.

Of them shall I be had in honor. --2 Sam. vi. 22.

8. To cause or force to go; to take. "The stars have us to bed." --Herbert. "Have out all men from me." --2 Sam. xiii. 9.

9. To take or hold (one's self); to proceed promptly; -- used reflexively, often with ellipsis of the pronoun; as, to have after one; to have at one or at a thing, i. e., to aim at one or at a thing; to attack; to have with a companion. --Shak.

10. To be under necessity or obligation; to be compelled; followed by an infinitive.

Science has, and will long have, to be a divider and a separatist. --M. Arnold.

The laws of philology have to be established by external comparison and induction. --Earle.

11. To understand.

You have me, have you not? --Shak.

12. To put in an awkward position; to have the advantage of; as, that is where he had him. [Slang]

Note: Have, as an auxiliary verb, is used with the past participle to form preterit tenses; as, I have loved; I shall have eaten. Originally it was used only with the participle of transitive verbs, and denoted the possession of the object in the state indicated by the participle; as, I have conquered him, I have or hold him in a conquered state; but it has long since lost this independent significance, and is used with the participles both of transitive and intransitive verbs as a device for expressing past time. Had is used, especially in poetry, for would have or should have.

Myself for such a face had boldly died. --Tennyson.

To have a care, to take care; to be on one's guard.

To have (a man) out, to engage (one) in a duel.

To have done (with). See under Do, v. i.

To have it out, to speak freely; to bring an affair to a conclusion.

To have on, to wear.

To have to do with. See under Do, v. t.

Syn: To possess; to own. See Possess.

Language Translation for : have

Spanish: tener,

German: Imperfekt,

Japanese: 完了形をつくる

More Translations »

have

O.E. habban "to own, possess," from P.Gmc. *khaf- (cf. O.N. hafa, O.S. hebbjan, O.Fris. habba, Ger. haben, Goth. haban "to have"), from PIE *kap- "to grasp" (see capable). Not related to L. habere, despite similarity in form and sense; the L. cognate is capere "seize." O.E. second pers. sing. pres. hæfst, third pers. sing. pres. hæfð became M.E. hast, hath, while O.E. -bb- became -v- in have. The p.p. had developed from O.E. gehæfd. Sense of "possess, have at one's disposal" (I have a book) is a shift from older languages, where the thing possessed was made the subject and the possessor took the dative case (e.g. L. est mihi liber "I have a book," lit. "there is to me a book"). Used as an auxiliary in O.E., too (esp. to form present perfect tense); the word has taken on more functions over time; Mod.Eng. he had better would have been O.E. him (dat.) wære betere. To have to for "must" (1579) is from sense of "possess as a duty or thing to be done" (O.E.). Have-not "poor person" first recorded 1836. Phrase have a nice day first attested 1971. You never had it so good (1946) was said to be the stock answer to any complaints about U.S. Army life. Phrase have (noun), will (verb) is from 1954, originally from comedian Bob Hope, in the form Have tux, will travel; Hope described it as typical of vaudevillians' ads in "Variety," indicating a willingness to perform anywhere, any time.

have

In addition to the idioms beginning with have, also see entries beginning with had, and keep.

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