HAVE definition: to possess; own; hold for use; contain. See examples of have used in a sentence. The meaning of HAVE is to hold or maintain (something tangible or intangible) as a possession, privilege, entitlement, or responsibility.

Understanding the Context

How to use have in a sentence. Have is one of three auxiliary verbs in English: be, do and have. We use have before -ed forms to make the present perfect and past perfect. … 1.

Key Insights

To have endured all that one can: I've had it with their delays. 2. To be in a state beyond remedy, repair, or salvage: That coat has had it. 3. To have done everything that is possible or that will be permitted.

Final Thoughts

To have something means you possess it somehow. You may have a big house or have a lot of freckles on your nose. English gives us a lot of ways to have — this is a common word. You can have brown eyes and black hair, have the flu, have a red bike, and have strong feelings about football. 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. Definition of have verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more. To have is one of English’s three auxiliary verbs (along with to be and to do). An auxiliary verb adds more information (such as tense, mood, and voice) to the main verb. You use have when you are confirming or contradicting a statement containing 'have', 'has', or 'had', or answering a question.