have

present singular third person has · participle present having · participle past had · past had · first person past singular had · archaic present second person singular hast · past second person singular had · archaic past second person singular hadst · present singular third person has · archaic present singular third person hath · past singular third person had · archaic plural present han · past plural had · past subjunctive had · participle present having · archaic participle present haveing

1. transitiveTo possess, own.

   I have a house and a car.

2. transitiveTo hold, as something at someone's disposal.

   Do you have the key?

   1 more example

   Look what I have here—a frog I found on the street!

3. transitiveTo include as a part, ingredient, or feature.

   The movie has lots of action.

   3 more examples

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

   I have two sisters.

   2 more examples

   She doesn’t have any friends.

   I have a really mean boss.

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

   You've already had five drinks!

   2 more examples

   I have breakfast at six o'clock.

   She's had more than enough time already.

6. transitiveTo undertake or perform (an action or activity).

   Can I have a look at that?

   3 more examples

   He's having a tantrum about it.

   I’m going to have a bath now.

   Let’s have a game of tiddlywinks.

7. transitiveTo be scheduled to attend, undertake or participate in.

   I have a lot of work to do.

   2 more examples

   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.

8. transitiveTo experience, go through, undergo.

   I’m having the time of my life!

   4 more examples

   We had a hard year last year, with the locust swarms and all that.

   He had surgery on his hip yesterday.

   I hope you have a wonderful birthday.

   This year we're having Christmas with my wife's family in Thunder Bay.

9. transitiveTo be afflicted with, suffer from.

   He had a cold last week.

10. auxiliarywith past participleUsed in forming the perfect aspect.

    I have already eaten today.

    5 more examples

    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.

11. 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.)

    He has some money, hasn’t he?

    2 more examples

    They haven’t eaten dinner yet, have they?

    Your wife hasn’t been reading that nonsense, has she?

12. auxiliarywith infinitivewith toSee have to.

    I have to go.

13. transitiveTo give birth to.

    My mother had me when she was 25.

    2 more examples

    The couple always wanted to have children.

    My wife is having the baby right now!

14. informalpassiveusuallyTo obtain.

    The substance you describe can't be had at any price.

    1 more example

    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'

    1982, Rob Halford, K. K. Downing, Glenn Tipton, “You've Got Another Thing Comin'”, in Screaming for Vengeance, performed by Judas Priest, side 2, track 2

15. transitiveTo engage in sexual intercourse with.

    He’s always bragging about how many women he’s had.

    1 more example

    Tame midweek stress the fun way. Have each other before dinner to reconnect after a long day.

    2008 January–February, “70 Ways to Improve Every Day of the Week”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 1, →ISSN, page 134

    Synonyms: have one's way with

16. transitiveTo accept as a romantic partner.

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

17. transitivewith infinitiveTo cause to, by a command, request or invitation.

    The floor has had oil dropped all over it.

    3 more examples

    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.

    His English is still in its beginning stages, like my Creole, but he was able to translate some Creole songs that he's written into English—not the best English, but English nonetheless. He had me correct the translations. That kind of thing is very interesting to me. When I was learning Spanish, I would often take my favorite songs and try to translate them.

    2002, Matt Cyr, Something to Teach Me: Journal of an American in the Mountains of Haiti, Educa Vision, Inc., →ISBN, page 25

18. transitivewith adjectiveTo cause to be.

    Jim has his eyes closed.

    3 more examples

    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.

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

    I’ve had three people today tell me my hair looks nice.

    1 more example

    The hospital had several patients contract pneumonia last week.

20. transitivewith adjectiveTo 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.

    1 more example

    Anton Rogan, 8, was one of the runners-up in the Tick Tock Box short story competition, not Anton Rogers as we had it.

    2011 May 3, “Corrections and clarifications”, in The Guardian

21. UKslangtransitiveTo defeat in a fight; take.

    I could have him!

22. UKslangtransitiveTo inflict punishment or retribution on.

    You broke the window! Teacher’ll have you for that!

    1 more example

    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."

    2018 October 30, Dave Simpson, “The Buggles: how we made Video Killed the Radio Star”, in The Guardian, Guardian News & Media, retrieved 20 Mar 2025

23. transitivedated outside IrelandTo be able to speak (a language).

    I have no German.

    1 more example

    To the extent that I wear skirts and cheap nylon slips, I’ve gone native. But it doesn’t take long to find me out. Already the waiter realizes I don’t have much Spanish. Out of respect for my homeland, the waiter’s bringing me ketchup and mustard... He gives me a vast, four-page menu of which, he explains, one meat item is actually available; one vegetarian; several fish.

    1986, Denis Johnson, The Stars at Noon, Alfred A. Knopf, →ISBN, page 29

24. transitiveTo feel or be (especially painfully) aware of.

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

25. informaloftenpassivetransitiveTo trick, to deceive.

    You had me alright! I never would have thought that was just a joke.

    1 more example

    I bought a laptop online but it never arrived. I think I've been had!

26. transitiveoften in continuous tensesTo allow; to tolerate.

    The child screamed incessantly for his mother to buy him a toy, but she wasn't having any of it.

    2 more examples

    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!”

    1922 October 26, Virginia Woolf, chapter II, in Jacob’s Room, Richmond, London: […] Leonard & Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press, →OCLC; republished London: The Hogarth Press, 1960, →OCLC, page 19

27. oftentransitiveTo 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.

28. transitiveTo host someone; to take in as a guest.

    Thank you for having me!

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

    I have two contacts on my scope.

    1 more example

    What do you have for problem two?

30. transitiveTo 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.

31. transitivebiologyTo 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.

    2005, Sean Dooley, The Big Twitch, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, page 57

32. transitiveTo 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.

33. transitiveTo grasp the meaning of; comprehend.

    Ah! Now I have it!

34. nonstandardtransitivenon-native speakers' EnglishTo be (an age).

    hallo!i am student from croatia and i have 20 years!!my name is Ivan

    2004 February 8, ivan_horvat, “Hi!”, in aus.students (Usenet), archived from the original on 28 Jul 2026

    2 more examples

    My name is Helene de Pontis and I search penpals from all over the world, but not only. I have 20 years and I am a single.

    2002 December 1, Helene de Pontis, “Hello, it's me”, in soc.singles (Usenet), archived from the original on 28 Jul 2026

    My name is Rafael Torres de Almeida, I have 20 years of age, I live in São Paulo - Brazil

    2003 August 2, Rafael Torres de Almeida, “MCP, MCSA, MCSE e MCT "--Today--"”, in microsoft.public.cert.mct (Usenet), archived from the original on 28 Jul 2026

plural haves · alternative alternative obsolete haue · alternative hae · alternative hav

1. contrastiveidiomaticusuallyA wealthy or privileged person.

   A good credit rating can mean the difference between being a have or a have not.

   1981, Sepia

   2 more examples

   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.

   1999, Various, The Haves and Have Nots, Penguin, →ISBN

   A longtime advocate for racial and social justice with a degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, Walker, 40, got into politics at the urging of Edwards, an African American woman widely praised as a bridge-builder between the city’s haves and have-nots.

   2021 April 5, Laura Vozzella, “Charlottesville mayor says graphic poem illustrates Black experience in city”, in The Washington Post

   Antonyms: have-not

2. idiomaticuncommonOne who has some (contextually specified) thing.

   3 more examples

   To find out whether you are a have or a have not, did you understand the malo and Brett sentence a few lines back? If no, this doesn't make any difference to me, as you are the proud possessor of something the 'haves' haven't got. You know exactly what you like and why you like it. The 'haves' pretend to like and understand everything, which by the way is impossible. They deliberate over choosing a bottle in the shop for hours, ...

   2010, Simon Collin, Dictionary of Wine, A&C Black, →ISBN

   Generally, I can assure you that a woman's posterior causes a stir, whether she's considered a have or a have not. But in most cases, men gravitate toward a pair of prominent gluteus muscles because they find this display appealing. This prominent protrusion can make a pair of jeans look like it was painted on, above just being good to look at. And by the way, it also incites some backshot (a Caribbean term for a well-known sex position) and spanking tendencies during sexual activity ...

   2013, Kelda, Men Under a Microscope, Author House, →ISBN, page 57

   The question you must answer is, “Do you have Jesus?” In Jesus, you have eternal life. If you do not have Jesus—if you have not received Him—you do not have “the life.” Are you a “have,” or are you a “have not”? That is a vital decision every person must make—a critical issue you have to resolve for yourself.

   2014, Derek Prince, Ultimate Security: Finding a Refuge in Difficult Times, Whitaker House, →ISBN

plural haves

1. AustraliaNew ZealandinformalA fraud or deception; something misleading.

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

   1 more example

   "Open your eyes" is the company's tagline and part of its mission is to wake us up to the area's history, to the fact that New Zealand's '100% pure' marketing is a bit of a have, as well as to share the encouraging conservation efforts under way.

   2017 November 14, Joanna Davis, “Go with the flow in Abel Tasman National Park”, in stuff.co.nz

plural haves

1. dialectalA hawthorn.

   "Why, thin, what was it but the green laves o' the ould bush, an' the rid bunches o' the haves that war wavin' and shakin' in the moonlight."

   1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn