possession
- 01 B1 Intermediate
something that you own or have with you.
a physical object or asset belonging to a person; often used in the plural to refer to personal effects.
Simple“Please make sure you take all your personal possessions with you when you leave the train.”
In context“After the fire, the family was devastated to realize they had lost almost every personal possession they had accumulated over the decades.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
the state of having or carrying something.
the state of having, owning, or controlling something; often used in legal contexts regarding illegal items.
Simple“The police arrested the man for being in possession of a stolen car.”
In context“The defendant was charged with the illegal possession of controlled substances after a routine search of his vehicle.”
- 03 B1 Intermediate
the time when a player or team has the ball.
the state of having control of the ball or puck, allowing a team to be on the offensive.
Simple“Our team had possession of the ball for most of the second half.”
In context“Despite having seventy percent of the possession, the home team failed to convert any of their chances into a goal.”
Synonyms - 04 C1 Advanced
a way of showing that something belongs to someone in a sentence.
a syntactic relationship between nouns or pronouns indicating ownership or a close association.
Simple“In the phrase 'the teacher's book', the apostrophe shows possession.”
In context“The professor explained how different languages use various morphological markers to indicate possession within a noun phrase.”
Synonymsgenitive - 05 C2 Proficiency
the state of being controlled by an evil spirit or demon.
the state of being inhabited or controlled by a supernatural entity, such as a demon or spirit.
Simple“The old stories tell of a man who suffered from demonic possession.”
In context“The film explores the psychological and spiritual implications of a suspected case of possession in a remote village.”
Synonyms - 06 C1 Advanced
a country or area that is controlled by another country.
a territory or colony under the rule or sovereignty of a foreign power.
Simple“The island was once a colonial possession of the British Empire.”
In context“Historians analyzed the economic impact of maintaining overseas possessions during the nineteenth century.”
Synonyms
From Latin possessiō, possessiōnis. Equivalent to possess + -ion.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.