have Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a person who possesses great material wealth
    rich person; wealthy person.
  2. verb have or possess, either in a concrete or an abstract sense
    hold; have got.
    • She has $1,000 in the bank
    • He has got two beautiful daughters
    • She holds a Master's degree from Harvard
  3. verb have as a feature
    feature.
    • This restaurant features the most famous chefs in France
  4. verb go through (mental or physical states or experiences)
    receive; experience; get.
    • get an idea
    • experience vertigo
    • get nauseous
    • receive injuries
    • have a feeling
  5. verb have ownership or possession of
    own; possess.
    • He owns three houses in Florida
    • How many cars does she have?
  6. verb cause to move; cause to be in a certain position or condition
    let; get.
    • He got his squad on the ball
    • This let me in for a big surprise
    • He got a girl into trouble
  7. verb serve oneself to, or consume regularly
    take in; consume; ingest; take.
    • Have another bowl of chicken soup!
    • I don't take sugar in my coffee
  8. verb have a personal or business relationship with someone
    • have a postdoc
    • have an assistant
    • have a lover
  9. verb organize or be responsible for
    make; hold; throw; give.
    • hold a reception
    • have, throw, or make a party
    • give a course
  10. verb have left
    • I have two years left
    • I don't have any money left
    • They have two more years before they retire
  11. verb be confronted with
    • What do we have here?
    • Now we have a fine mess
  12. verb undergo
    experience.
    • The stocks had a fast run-up
  13. verb suffer from; be ill with
    • She has arthritis
  14. verb cause to do; cause to act in a specified manner
    get; make; induce; cause; stimulate.
    • The ads induced me to buy a VCR
    • My children finally got me to buy a computer
    • My wife made me buy a new sofa
  15. verb receive willingly something given or offered
    take; accept.
    • The only girl who would have him was the miller's daughter
    • I won't have this dog in my house!
    • Please accept my present
  16. verb get something; come into possession of
    receive.
    • receive payment
    • receive a gift
    • receive letters from the front
  17. verb undergo (as of injuries and illnesses)
    suffer; sustain; get.
    • She suffered a fracture in the accident
    • He had an insulin shock after eating three candy bars
    • She got a bruise on her leg
    • He got his arm broken in the scuffle
  18. verb achieve a point or goal
    make; get.
    • Nicklaus had a 70
    • The Brazilian team got 4 goals
    • She made 29 points that day
  19. verb cause to be born
    deliver; birth; bear; give birth.
    • My wife had twins yesterday!
  20. verb have sex with; archaic use
    take.
    • He had taken this woman when she was most vulnerable

WordNet

Have transitive verb
Etymology
OE. haven, habben, AS. habben (imperf. hæfde, p. p. gehæfd); akin to OS. hebbian, D. hebben, OFries, hebba, OHG. habn, G. haben, Icel. hafa, Sw. hafva, Dan. have, Goth. haban, and prob. to L. habere, whence F. avoir. Cf. Able, Avoirdupois, Binnacle, Habit.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Had ; present participle & verbal noun Having indicative present, I have, thou hast, he has; we, ye, they have
Definitions
  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 ✍ 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.
    Syn. -- To possess; to own. See Possess.

Webster 1913