Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To be in possession of.
  • intransitive verb To possess as a characteristic, quality, or function.
  • intransitive verb To possess or contain as a constituent part.
  • intransitive verb To occupy a particular relation to.
  • intransitive verb To possess knowledge of or facility in.
  • intransitive verb To hold in the mind; entertain.
  • intransitive verb To use or exhibit in action.
  • intransitive verb To come into possession of; acquire.
  • intransitive verb To receive; get.
  • intransitive verb To accept; take.
  • intransitive verb To suffer from.
  • intransitive verb To be subject to the experience of.
  • intransitive verb To cause to do something, as by persuasion or compulsion.
  • intransitive verb To cause to be in a specified place or state.
  • intransitive verb To permit; allow.
  • intransitive verb To carry on, perform, or execute.
  • intransitive verb To place at a disadvantage.
  • intransitive verb Informal To get the better of, especially by trickery or deception.
  • intransitive verb Informal To influence by dishonest means; bribe.
  • intransitive verb To procreate (offspring).
  • intransitive verb To give birth to; bear.
  • intransitive verb To partake of.
  • intransitive verb To be obliged to; must.
  • intransitive verb To engage in sexual intercourse with.
  • intransitive verb Used with a past participle to form the present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect tenses indicating completed action.
  • noun One enjoying especially material wealth.
  • idiom (have a mind to) To be inclined to (do something).
  • idiom (had better/best) To be wise or obliged to; should or must.
  • idiom (have done with) To stop; cease.
  • idiom (have had it) To have endured all that one can.
  • idiom (have had it) To be in a state beyond remedy, repair, or salvage.
  • idiom (have had it) To have done everything that is possible or that will be permitted.
  • idiom (have in mind) To remember or think of.
  • idiom (have in mind) To intend or be inclined (to do something).
  • idiom (have it) To assert; maintain.
  • idiom (have it) To think and act with respect to (something being considered).
  • idiom (have it) To gain a victory in a voice vote.
  • idiom (have/have got) To be much better than (someone) at a particular endeavor.
  • idiom (have/have got) To act in a hostile manner toward or intend to harm (someone), especially because of a grudge.
  • idiom (have/have got) To have the capacity or disposition to (to do something).
  • idiom (have it out) To settle decisively, especially by means of an argument or a discussion.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

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

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English haven, from Old English habban, hafian ("to have"), from Proto-Germanic *habjanan (“to have”), durative of Proto-Germanic *habjanan (“to lift, take up”), from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂p- (“to take, seize, catch”). Cognate with West Frisian hawwe ("to have"), Dutch hebben ("to have"), Low German hebben, hewwen ("to have"), German haben ("to have"), Danish have ("to have"), Swedish hava ("to have"), Icelandic hafa ("to have"), Latin capiō ("take", v), Russian хапать (khapat', "to seize"). More at heave.

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