have

/hav/; unstressed /heuhv, euhv/; for 26 usually /haf/, v. and auxiliary v., pres. sing. 1st pers. have, 2nd have or (Archaic) hast, 3rd has or (Archaic) hath, pres. pl. have; past sing. 1st pers. had, 2nd had or (Archaic)) hadst or haddest, 3rd had, past pl. had; past part. had; pres. part. having, n.

v.t.

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.

v.i.

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.

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

28. had rather. See rather (def. 8).

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

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

31. 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.

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

33. 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.

34. 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.

35. 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. Cf. put (def. 34).

36. 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.

37. 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.

n.

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

[bef. 900; ME haven, habben, OE habban; c. G haben, ON hafa, Goth haban to have; perh. akin to HEAVE]

Syn. 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.

Ant. 1. lack.

Usage. See of.

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