Word
have
/ˈhæv/
Definitions
01to own or possess
A1 · Beginner
v. to own something or have it with you.
v. to possess or own a physical object or an abstract quality. Transitive — requires a direct object.
Español:tener
“I have a new laptop that I use for my university work.”
“The company doesn't have the necessary resources to expand into the European market this year.”
Usage
In the present tense, 'have got' is a common informal alternative to 'have' for possession.
Pitfall
I am having a car.
I have a car.
When 'have' means 'to own', it is a stative verb and is not usually used in the continuous (-ing) form.
Antonyms
02relationships and features
A1 · Beginner
v. to describe your family, friends, or the parts of something.
v. to state the existence of a relationship or a constituent part.
“She has two brothers and a sister who live in London.”
“The new apartment building has a rooftop garden and a small gym for the residents.”
03to eat or drink
A1 · Beginner
v. to eat a meal or drink something.
v. to consume food, drink, or other substances.
“We are having dinner at a nice Italian restaurant tonight.”
“Would you like to have a coffee while we wait for the rest of the team to arrive?”
Usage
Unlike the 'possession' sense, this sense can be used in the continuous (-ing) form.
04to experience
A1 · Beginner
v. to go through an event or feel an emotion.
v. to undergo or experience an event, activity, or state of mind.
“I hope you have a great time at the party tonight.”
“The passengers had a very difficult journey due to the heavy snow and train cancellations.”
Synonyms
05auxiliary for past actions
A2 · Elementary
v. a helper word used with another verb to talk about the past.
v. an auxiliary verb used with a past participle to form the perfect aspect.
“I have already seen that movie three times.”
“By the time the police arrived, the suspects had already fled the scene through the back exit.”
Usage
Followed by a past participle (e.g., 'have seen', 'has gone').
06to cause or arrange
B1 · Intermediate
v. to make someone do something or arrange for a job to be done.
v. to cause something to be done by someone else; often used in the 'have something done' structure.
“I need to have my car repaired before our road trip.”
“The manager had his assistant book the flights and prepare the presentation for the conference.”
Usage
Often follows the pattern: have + object + past participle.
07to trick
C1 · Advanced Informal
v. to trick or deceive someone.
v. to deceive or outwit someone, often used in the passive voice.
“He realized too late that he had been had by the street performer.”
“The investors soon discovered they had been had by a sophisticated Ponzi scheme that promised impossible returns.”
08wealthy person
B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun
n. a person who has a lot of money and many things.
n. a person who possesses significant wealth or social privilege; usually used in the plural phrase 'the haves and the have-nots'.
“The gap between the haves and the have-nots is growing in many cities.”
“The documentary explores the social tensions that arise when the haves live in gated communities right next to impoverished slums.”
Antonyms
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “have” in context.
Confusables
Have got is an informal, present-tense alternative to have for possession and obligation, used primarily in British English.
RememberHave got is for now; have is for always.
Word family
VERB
NOUN
Related words
Grammar
For Spanish speakers
Pronunciation Written 'h' is silent in Spanish, so the initial /h/ of 'have' is dropped or replaced with the velar fricative /x/ of 'jamón'.
Grammar Spanish expresses existence with impersonal 'hay' (from 'haber'), which is transferred onto 'have' and produces 'have a book on the table' for 'there is a book on the table'.
Collocations In Spanish, one 'takes' a coffee (tomar un café), leading learners to say 'take a coffee' or 'take breakfast' instead of the natural English collocation 'have a coffee'.
For Mandarin speakers
Grammar Mandarin lacks a distinct auxiliary verb for the perfect aspect, using the particle 了 (le) instead. This often leads learners to omit 'have' in perfect constructions, resulting in 'I finished already' instead of 'I have finished'.
Collocations The Mandarin verb for taking medicine is 吃 (chī), which literally means 'eat'. This produces the common error 'eat medicine' (吃药, chī yào) instead of the standard English collocation 'take medicine'.
For Japanese speakers
Pronunciation Japanese phonology lacks the /v/ sound, so speakers substitute it with the voiced bilabial plosive /b/. This causes the word to be pronounced as 'habu' /habɯ/.
Grammar Japanese verbs like ある (aru) and いる (iru) express existence or possession regardless of the subject's person. Because Japanese lacks subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'have' vs 'has'), learners often produce 'He have' by carrying over the invariant Japanese verb structure.
Collocations In Japanese, 薬を飲む (kusuri o nomu) literally translates to 'drink medicine'. This L1 structure leads to the error 'drink medicine' instead of the standard English collocation 'have medicine' or 'take medicine'.
For French speakers
Pronunciation French speakers frequently omit the voiceless glottal fricative /h/ because French has no equivalent phoneme; 'have' /hæv/ is often mispronounced as /æv/.
Grammar French uses 'avoir' (to have) for age and physical states where English requires 'to be'. This leads to errors such as 'I have 20 years' (J'ai 20 ans) or 'I have hunger' (J'ai faim) instead of 'I am 20' or 'I am hungry'.
Collocations The French verb 'prendre' (to take) is used for meals and drinks, leading learners to say 'take a coffee' or 'take breakfast' instead of the natural English collocations 'have a coffee' or 'have breakfast'.
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.A1 MoversIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.2.0–3.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 1.0–1.50–23TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.120–224
- Frequency
- Very common
- Level
- A1 · BeginnerOxford
- Updated
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Traducciones: Kaikki.org (Wiktionary), CC BY-SA 4.0