—v. (3rd sing. present has; past and past part. had)
—v.tr.
1 hold in possession as one's property or at one's disposal; be provided with (has a car; had no time to read; has nothing to wear).
2 hold in a certain relationship (has a sister; had no equals).
3 contain as a part or quality (house has two floors; has green eyes).
4 a undergo, experience, enjoy, suffer (had a good time; had a shock; has a headache). b be subjected to a specified state (had my car stolen; the book has a page missing). c cause, instruct, or invite (a person or thing) to be in a particular state or take a particular action (had him dismissed; had us worried; had my hair cut; had a copy made; had them to stay).
5 a engage in (an activity) (had an argument; had sex). b hold (a meeting, party, etc.).
6 eat or drink (had a beer).
7 (usu. in neg.) accept or tolerate; permit to (I won't have it; will not have you say such things).
8 a let (a feeling etc.) be present (have no doubt; has a lot of sympathy for me; have nothing against them). b show or feel (mercy, pity, etc.) towards another person (have pity on him; have mercy!). c (foll. by to + infin.) show by action that one is influenced by (a feeling, quality, etc.) (have the goodness to leave now).
9 a give birth to (offspring). b conceive mentally (an idea etc.).
10 receive, obtain (had a letter from him; not a ticket to be had).
11 be burdened with or committed to (has a job to do; have my garden to attend to).
12 a have obtained (a qualification) (has six O levels). b know (a language) (has no Latin).
13 sl. a get the better of (I had him there). b (usu. in passive) Brit. cheat, deceive (you were had).
14 coarse sl. have sexual intercourse with.
—v.aux. (with past part. or ellipt., to form the perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect tenses, and the conditional mood) (have worked; had seen; will have been; had I known, I would have gone; have you met her? yes, I have).
—n.
1 (usu. in pl.) colloq. a person who has wealth or resources.
2 sl. a swindle.
Phrases and idioms:
had best see BEST. had better would find it prudent to. had rather see RATHER. have a care see CARE. have done, have done with see DONE. have an eye for, have eyes for, have an eye to see EYE. have a good mind to see MIND. have got to colloq. = have to. have had it colloq.
1 have missed one's chance.
2 have passed one's prime.
3 have been killed, defeated, etc.
have it
1 (foll. by that + clause) express the view that.
2 win a decision in a vote etc.
3 colloq. have found the answer etc. have it away (or off) Brit. coarse sl. have sexual intercourse. have it both ways see BOTH. have it in for colloq. be hostile or ill-disposed towards. have it out (often foll. by with) colloq. attempt to settle a dispute by discussion or argument. have it one's own way see WAY. have-not (usu. in pl.) colloq. a person lacking wealth or resources. have nothing to do with see DO(1).
have on
1 be wearing (clothes).
2 be committed to (an engagement).
3 colloq. tease, play a trick on. have out get (a tooth etc.) extracted (had her tonsils out).
have something (or nothing) on a person
1 know something (or nothing) discreditable or incriminating about a person.
2 have an (or no) advantage or superiority over a person. have to be obliged to, must. have to do with see DO(1). have up Brit. colloq. bring (a person) before a court of justice, interviewer, etc.
Etymology: OE habban f. Gmc, prob. rel. to HEAVE
Useful english dictionary. 2012.