have

• (Received Pronunciation, General American, Australia) IPA^(key): /ˈhæv/

  • Audio (US):

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  • Audio (Australia):

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• (Standard Southern British, Northern England, Scotland, Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈhav/

  • Audio (Standard Southern British); “to have”:

    Duration: 2 seconds.0:02

    (file)

• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈhɛv/
• (obsolete) IPA^(key): /ˈheɪ̯v/^[1][2]
• (unstressed form) IPA^(key): /ˈ(h)əv/, [ˈ(h)əv]
• Rhymes: -æv
• Hyphenation: have
• Homophones: halve (Canada, US (except New York City, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Baltimore); Scotland), of (unstressed, for some speakers)

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.

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]

The nonstandard 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.

• haue (alternative typography, obsolete)
• hae (Scottish-English)
• hav (May be used by advocates of English spelling reform.)

have (third-person singular simple present has, present participle having, simple past and past participle had)

1. (transitive) To possess, own.^[6]

   I have a house and a car.

2. (transitive) To hold, as something at someone's disposal.

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

   Do you have the key?

   (not necessarily one's own key)

3. (transitive) To include as a part, ingredient, or feature.

   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.

4. (transitive) Used to state the existence or presence of someone in a specified relationship with the subject.

   I have two sisters.

   She doesn’t have any friends.

   I have a really mean boss.

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

   I have breakfast at six o'clock.

   You've already had five drinks!

   She's had more than enough time already.

6. (transitive) To undertake or perform (an action or activity).

   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.

7. (transitive) To be scheduled to attend, undertake or participate in.

   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.

8. (transitive) To experience, go through, undergo.

   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.

9. (transitive) To be afflicted with, suffer from.

   He had a cold last week.

11. (auxiliary verb, taking a past participle) Used in forming the perfect aspect.

    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.

12. 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?

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

    He has some money, hasn’t he?

13. (auxiliary verb, taking a to-infinitive) See have to.

    I have to go.

15. (transitive) To give birth to.

    The couple always wanted to have children.

    My wife is having the baby right now!

    My mother had me when she was 25.

16. (informal, usually passive) To obtain. quotations ▼

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

    • 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:

      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'

17. (transitive) To engage in sexual intercourse with. quotations ▼

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

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

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

18. (transitive) To accept as a romantic partner.

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

19. (transitive with bare infinitive) To cause to, by a command, request or invitation. quotations ▼

    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.

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

      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.

20. (transitive with adjective or adjective-phrase complement) To cause to be.

    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.

21. (transitive with bare infinitive) 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.

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

22. (transitive with adjective or adjective-phrase complement) To depict as being. quotations ▼

    Their stories differed; he said he’d been at work when the incident occurred, but her statement had him at home that entire evening.

    • 2011 May 3, “Corrections and clarifications”, in The Guardian‎^[4]:

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

23. (UK, slang, transitive) To defeat in a fight; take.

    I could have him!

24. (UK, slang, transitive) To inflict punishment or retribution on. quotations ▼
    • 2018 October 30, Dave Simpson, “The Buggles: how we made Video Killed the Radio Star”, in The Guardian‎^[5], Guardian News & Media, retrieved 20 March 2025:

      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."

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

25. (dated outside Ireland, transitive) To be able to speak (a language).

    I have no German.

26. (transitive) To feel or be (especially painfully) aware of.

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

27. (informal, often passive, transitive) To trick, to deceive.

    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.

28. (transitive, in the negative, often in continuous tenses) To allow; to tolerate. quotations ▼

    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.

    • 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:

      “ 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!”

29. (transitive, 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.

30. (transitive) To host someone; to take in as a guest.

    Thank you for having me!

31. (transitive) To get a reading, measurement, or result from an instrument or calculation.

    What do you have for problem two?

    I have two contacts on my scope.

32. (transitive, 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.

33. (transitive, birdwatching) To make an observation of (a bird species). quotations ▼
    • 2005, Sean Dooley, The Big Twitch, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, page 57:

      For some reason, "I had a Freckled Duck today" never seems to work as a pick-up line.

34. (transitive) To capture or actively hold someone's attention or interest. quotations ▼
    • 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.

35. (transitive) To grasp the meaning of; comprehend.

    Ah! Now I have it!

37. (transitive, nonstandard, non-native speakers' English) To be (an age). quotations ▼
    • 2002 December 1, Helene de Pontis, “Hello, it's me”, in soc.singles‎^[6] (Usenet), archived from the original on 28 July 2026:

      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.

    • 2003 August 2, Rafael Torres de Almeida, “MCP, MCSA, MCSE e MCT "--Today--"”, in microsoft.public.cert.mct‎^[7] (Usenet), archived from the original on 28 July 2026:

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

    • 2004 February 8, ivan_horvat, “Hi!”, in aus.students‎^[8] (Usenet), archived from the original on 28 July 2026:

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

In certain dialects, expressions (e.g., I haven't the faintest idea) , and literary use, the lexical have can be used without do-support, meaning the sentence Do you have an idea? can also be Have you an idea? This makes have the only lexical verb in Modern English that can function without it, aside from some nonce examples with other verbs in set phrases, as in What say you?, and aside from the verb be where this is considered lexical.

The auxiliary have which forms the perfect tense never uses do-support, so Have you seen it? cannot be *Do you have seen it?.

A sentence can't end with a contracted form of have or has, so the response to Have you done it? might be I have but not I've; similarly, one might respond to Has he done it? with He has but not he's. Also, do or does cannot be followed by a contracted form of have or has. It's possible to say or write I do have or She does have but not I do've or She does've.

All modal verbs used to express certainty in the past take have + past participle: She must've had a bad day – she looks terrible!

• 've

• (engage in sexual intercourse with): have one's way with, sleep with, take; see also Thesaurus:copulate with

have (plural haves)

1. (idiomatic, usually contrastive) A wealthy or privileged person. antonym ▲quotations ▼

   Antonym: have-not

   • 1981, Sepia:

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

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

     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.

   • 2021 April 5, Laura Vozzella, “Charlottesville mayor says graphic poem illustrates Black experience in city”, in The Washington Post‎^[9]:

     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.

2. (idiomatic, uncommon) One who has some (contextually specified) thing. quotations ▼
   • 2010, Simon Collin, Dictionary of Wine, A&C Black, →ISBN:

     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, ...

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

     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 ...

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

     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.

• auxiliary verb
• past tense
• perfect tense

From have on (“to deceive”).

have (plural haves)

1. (Australia, New Zealand, informal) A fraud or deception; something misleading. quotations ▼

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

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

     "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.

Variant of haw.

have (plural haves)

1. (dialect) A hawthorn. quotations ▼
   • 1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn:

     "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."

• evah

From Old Danish haghi, from Old Norse hagi, from Proto-Germanic *hagô. Cognate with Norwegian hage, Swedish hage, English haw, German Hag, Dutch haag.

• IPA^(key): /ˈhaːvə/, [ˈhɛːʊ], [ˈhɛːʋə]

have c (singular definite haven, plural indefinite haver)

1. garden
2. orchard
3. allotment

• park

• “have,1” in Den Danske Ordbog

From Old Danish hauæ, from Old Norse hafa (“to have, wear, carry”), from Proto-Germanic *habjaną (“to have, hold”), cognate with English have, German haben. The Germanic words are from Proto-Indo-European *kap- and are not related to Latin habeō.

• ha'

• IPA^(key): /ha(ːˀ)/, [(ˈ)hæ], [ˈhɛˀ], (formal) IPA^(key): /ˈhaːvə/, [ˈhɛːʊ], [ˈhɛːʋə]

have (present tense har, past tense havde, past participle haft)

2. (transitive) to have, have got
3. (auxiliary, with the past participle) have (forms perfect tense)

• have det
• have for
• have på
• have imod
• have tilbage
• forehavende
• havesyge

• eje
• få
• besidde
• tage

• “have,2” in Den Danske Ordbog

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

• IPA^(key): /haːvə/, [ˈhæːʋə], [ˈhæːʊ]

have n

1. indefinite plural of hav

From Middle Dutch have, derived from the verb hebben (“to have”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈɦaː.və/

• Audio:

  Duration: 2 seconds.0:02

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• Hyphenation: ha‧ve
• Rhymes: -aːvə

have f (plural haven, no diminutive)

1. property, possession

• haveloos

• Afrikaans: hawe

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈha.weː], [ˈha.wɛ]
• (Affectation) (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈa.weː], [ˈa.wɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈaː.ve]
• See pronunciation note at the headword's page.

havē̆

1. alternative spelling of avē̆ (“hail!”)

• Sometimes prescribed over the much more common avē̆.

have

1. (Early Middle English) alternative form of havene

have

1. alternative form of haven (“to have”)

Borrowed from Old Norse háfr (“net”), from Proto-Germanic *hēb-, *hēf-, an ablaut form of *hafjaną (“to have; take; catch”). Related to English dialectal haaf (“a pock-net”).

• Audio (Jersey):

  Duration: 1 second.0:01

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have f (plural haves)

1. (Jersey) shrimp net

• hava (a and split infinitives)
• ha

From Old Norse hafa, from Proto-Germanic *habjaną (“to have”), durative of Proto-Germanic *habjaną (“to lift, take up”), from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to take, seize, catch”).

have (present tense hev, past tense havde, past participle havt, passive infinitive havast, present participle havande, imperative hav)

1. (pre-2012) alternative form of ha

Likely unadapted borrowing from Danish have.

have c

1. (obsolete Halland dialect) synonym of hage (“pasture”)

• Haverdal (a town)

have

1. third-person singular present indicative of avere

have

1. alternative form of ha quotations ▼
   • 1867, “THE BRIDE'S PORTION”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 102:

     A portion ich gae her, was (it's now ich have ee-tolth)

     The portion I gave her was (it's now I have told)

   • 1867, “CASTEALE CUDDE'S LAMENTATION”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 1, page 102:

     Neen chickès have hea ee-left vatherless.

     Nine chickens has he left fatherless.

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 102