have Meaning & Definition
What Does Have Mean?
Have is used as a verb meaning To possess, own. It is also used to mean To hold, as something at someone's disposal. As a noun, it means A wealthy or privileged person. As a noun, it means A fraud or deception; something misleading.
Have: Key Facts
| Part of speech | verb, noun |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | //ˈhæv// |
| Syllables | 1 |
| Synonyms | induce, sustain and hold |
| Antonyms | decline, reject and miss |
| Plural | haves |
| Verb forms | has, having, had |
Have Definition (Verb)
- To possess, own.
I have a house and a car.
- To hold, as something at someone's disposal.
Look what I have here—a frog I found on the street!
- To include as a part, ingredient, or feature.
The stove has a handle. The shirt has sleeves.
- Used to state the existence or presence of someone in a specified relationship with the subject.
I have two sisters.
- To consume or use up (a particular substance or resource, especially food or drink).
I have breakfast at six o'clock.
- To undertake or perform (an action or activity).
Can I have a look at that?
- To be scheduled to attend, undertake or participate in.
What class do you have right now? I have English.
- To experience, go through, undergo.
We had a hard year last year, with the locust swarms and all that.
- To be afflicted with, suffer from.
He had a cold last week.
- Used in forming the perfect aspect.
I have already eaten today.
- 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?
- See have to.
I have to go.
- To give birth to.
The couple always wanted to have children.
- To obtain.
The substance you describe can't be had at any price.
- To engage in sexual intercourse with.
He’s always bragging about how many women he’s had.
- To accept as a romantic partner.
Despite my protestations of love, she would not have me.
- To cause to, by a command, request or invitation.
They had me feed their dog while they were out of town.
- To cause to be.
He had him arrested for trespassing.
- 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.
- 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.
- To defeat in a fight; take.
I could have him!
- To inflict punishment or retribution on.
You broke the window! Teacher’ll have you for that!
- To be able to speak (a language).
I have no German.
- To feel or be (especially painfully) aware of.
Dan certainly has arms today, probably from scraping paint off four columns the day before.
- To trick, to deceive.
I bought a laptop online but it never arrived. I think I've been had!
- To allow; to tolerate.
The child screamed incessantly for his mother to buy him a toy, but she wasn't having any of it.
- 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.
- To host someone; to take in as a guest.
Thank you for having me!
- To get a reading, measurement, or result from an instrument or calculation.
What do you have for problem two?
- 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.
- To make an observation of (a bird species).
- To capture or actively hold someone's attention or interest.
- To grasp the meaning of; comprehend.
Ah! Now I have it!
- To be (an age).
Have as a Noun
- A wealthy or privileged person.
- One who has some (contextually specified) thing.
Noun
- A fraud or deception; something misleading.
They advertise it as a great deal, but I think it's a bit of a have.
Noun
- A hawthorn.
Verb
- To partake of (a particular substance, especially food or drink, or action or activity).
Can I have a look at that?
- (auxiliary verb, taking a past participle) Used in forming the perfect aspect.
I had already eaten.
- (auxiliary verb, taking a to-infinitive) See have to.
I have to go.
- (transitive with bare infinitive) To cause to, by a command, request or invitation.
They had me feed their dog while they were out of town.
- (transitive with adjective or adjective-phrase complement) To cause to be.
He had him arrested for trespassing.
- (transitive with bare infinitive) To be affected by an occurrence. (Used in supplying a topic that is not a verb argument.)
I've had three people today tell me my hair looks nice.
- (transitive with adjective or adjective-phrase complement) 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.
- (obsolete outside Ireland) To be able to speak (a language).
I have no German.
- (often with present participle) To allow; to tolerate.
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.
- (often used in the negative) 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.
- (of a jury) 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.
Synonyms of Have
Antonyms of Have
Have in a Sentence
I have a house and a car.
Look what I have here—a frog I found on the street!
Do you have the key?
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.
The movie has lots of action.
I have two sisters.
She doesn’t have any friends.
I have a really mean boss.
I have breakfast at six o'clock.
You've already had five drinks!
She's had more than enough time already.
Can I have a look at that?
He's having a tantrum about it.
I’m going to have a bath now.
Let’s have a game of tiddlywinks.
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.
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!
I hope you have a wonderful birthday.
This year we're having Christmas with my wife's family in Thunder Bay.
He had a cold last week.
I have already eaten today.
Mom's gone real mad, she has.
The universe is expanding and has been since its beginning.
I will have left by the time you get here.
This is the first (and last) time I've eaten lobster.
I’ve worked here for exactly four years, one month and 10 days.
The dogs have eaten your dinner, and I ate the last of the frozen burgers this morning.
Uncle José has crashed the car again. He ran into a tree.
The American Revolution has influenced every democratic process in Europe since the 19th c.
I'm going to take a bath after I've answered these emails.
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?
I have to go.
The couple always wanted to have children.
My wife is having the baby right now!
My mother had me when she was 25.
The substance you describe can't be had at any price.
He’s always bragging about how many women he’s had.
Despite my protestations of love, she would not have me.
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.
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.
Jim has his eyes closed.
The hospital had several patients contract pneumonia last week.
I’ve had three people today tell me my hair looks nice.
Two things have happened to me that I hadn't have happen in over two years.
Their stories differed; he said he’d been at work when the incident occurred, but her statement had him at home that entire evening.
I could have him!
You broke the window! Teacher’ll have you for that!
I have no German.
Dan certainly has arms today, probably from scraping paint off four columns the day before.
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.
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.
I made up an excuse as to why I was out so late, but my wife wasn't having any of it.
Thank you for having me!
What do you have for problem two?
I have two contacts on my scope.
We’ll schedule closing arguments for Thursday, and the jury will have the case by that afternoon.
Ah! Now I have it!
They advertise it as a great deal, but I think it's a bit of a have.
Do you have the key? (not necessarily one's own key)
Fred won't be able to come to the party; he has a meeting that day.
I had already eaten.
They haven't eaten dinner yet, have they?
He's always bragging about how many women he's had.
I've had three people today tell me my hair looks nice.
Their stories differed; he said he'd been at work when the incident occurred, but her statement had him at home that entire evening.
We'll schedule closing arguments for Thursday, and the jury will have the case by that afternoon.
Word Forms & Grammar
have (third-person singular simple present has, present participle having, simple past and past participle had)
have (plural haves)
Words That Rhyme With Have
Origin of Have
Origin 1: From Middle English haven, from Old English habban (“to have”), from Proto-West Germanic *habbjan, from Proto-Germanic *habjaną (“to have”), durative of *habjaną (“to lift, take up”), from Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti, an imperfective formation to the root *kap- (“to take, seize, catch”). Related to heave.
Origin 2: Since there is no common Indo-European root for a transitive possessive verb have (notice that Latin habeō is not etymologically related to English have), Proto-Indo-European probably lacked the have structure. Instead, the third person forms of be were used, with the possessor in dative case, compare Latin mihi est / sunt, literally to me is / are.[3]
Origin 3: The nonstandard etymology 1, verb sense 34 (“to be (an age)”) is a semantic loan from other languages’ term for “to possess, own”, such as French avoir, Polish mieć, and Spanish tener.
Origin 4: From have on (“to deceive”).
How to Pronounce Have
The standard pronunciation of have is //ˈhæv//, spoken in 1 syllable.
Quick Answers About Have
Is have a verb or a noun?
Have is mainly used as a verb, but it can also be used as a noun.
What is another word for have?
Close synonyms of have are induce, sustain and hold. See the full list of have synonyms and antonyms.
What is the opposite of have?
The opposite of have can be expressed with words like decline, reject, miss and refuse.
What is the plural of have?
The plural of have is haves.
What is the past tense of have?
The past tense of have is had. The present participle is having.