Definitions for possess
pəˈzɛspos·sess

Princeton's WordNet(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. possessverb

   have as an attribute, knowledge, or skill

   "he possesses great knowledge about the Middle East"

2. own, have, possessverb

   have ownership or possession of

   "He owns three houses in Florida"; "How many cars does she have?"

3. possessverb

   enter into and control, as of emotions or ideas

   "What possessed you to buy this house?"; "A terrible rage possessed her"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. possessverb

   To have; to have ownership of.

   He does not even possess a working telephone.

2. possessverb

   To take control of someone's body or mind, especially in a supernatural manner.

   They thought he was possessed by evil spirits.

3. possessverb

   To occupy.

4. possessverb

   To vest ownership in (someone) with ownership.

5. Etymology: * From possessus, past participle of possīdeō.

Webster Dictionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Possessverb

   to occupy in person; to hold or actually have in one's own keeping; to have and to hold

2. Possessverb

   to have the legal title to; to have a just right to; to be master of; to own; to have; as, to possess property, an estate, a book

3. Possessverb

   to obtain occupation or possession of; to accomplish; to gain; to seize

4. Possessverb

   to enter into and influence; to control the will of; to fill; to affect; -- said especially of evil spirits, passions, etc

5. Possessverb

   to put in possession; to make the owner or holder of property, power, knowledge, etc.; to acquaint; to inform; -- followed by of or with before the thing possessed, and now commonly used reflexively

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Possess

   poz-zes′, v.t. to have or hold as an owner: to have the control of: to inform: to seize: to enter into and influence: to put (one's self) in possession (of): (Spens.) to achieve: (Shak.) put in possession of information, convince.—adj. Possessed′, influenced by some evil spirit, demented.—n. Posses′sion, act of possessing: the thing possessed: a country taken by conquest: property: state of being possessed, as by an evil spirit: madness.—adjs. Posses′sionary, Posses′sive, pertaining to or denoting possession.—n. Posses′sive (gram.), a pronoun denoting possession: the possessive case.—adv. Posses′sively.—n. Posses′sor, one who possesses: owner: proprietor: occupant.—adj. Posses′sory, relating to a possessor or possession: having possession.—Give possession, to put in another's power or occupancy; Take possession, to assume ownership; Writ of possession, a process directing a sheriff to put a person in possession of property recovered in ejectment. [Fr.,—L. possidēre, possessum.]

Matched Categories

1. • Dominate
   • Have

British National Corpus

1. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'possess' in Verbs Frequency: #463

How to pronounce possess?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say possess in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of possess in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of possess in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of possess in a Sentence

1. Lois McMaster Bujold:

   You don't pay back your parents. You can't. The debt you owe them gets collected by your children, who hand it down in turn. It's a sort of entailment. Or if you don't have children of the body, it's left as a debt to your common humanity. Or to your God, if you possess or are possessed by one.

2. Oliver Sacks:

   To be ourselves we must have ourselves – possess, if need be re-possess, our life-stories. We must “recollect” ourselves, recollect the inner drama, the narrative, of ourselves. A man needs such a narrative, a continuous inner narrative, to maintain his identity, his self.

3. Gandolfo - (RJ Intindola):

   We all acquire two types of scars; one is visible for all to see and the other resides deep within us. Both possess pain but others can only determine if the external scars have healed. The emotional scars within are usually more painful and can linger for years.

4. Henry Ward Beecher:

   Good nature is worth more than knowledge, more than money, more than honor, to the persons who possess it.

5. Michel Eyquem de Montaigne:

   We are born to inquire into truth; it belongs to a greater to possess it.

Popularity rank by frequency of use