Definitions for possession
pəˈzɛʃ ənpos·ses·sion

Princeton's WordNet(3.83 / 6 votes)Rate this definition:

1. possession, ownershipnoun

   the act of having and controlling property

2. possessionnoun

   anything owned or possessed

3. possessionnoun

   being controlled by passion or the supernatural

4. monomania, possessionnoun

   a mania restricted to one thing or idea

5. possessionnoun

   a territory that is controlled by a ruling state

6. self-control, self-possession, possession, willpower, will power, self-command, self-willnoun

   the trait of resolutely controlling your own behavior

7. possessionnoun

   (sport) the act of controlling the ball (or puck)

   "they took possession of the ball on their own goal line"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. possessionnoun

   Something that someone possesses, but to which he does not necessarily have private property rights.

   Etymology: From possessio (Gen: possessionis)

2. possessionnoun

   Control or occupancy of something for which one does not necessarily have private property rights.

   Etymology: From Latin possessiō, possessiōnis.

3. possessionnoun

   Something that is owned.

   The car quickly became his most prized possession.

   Etymology: From Latin possessiō, possessiōnis.

4. possessionnoun

   Ownership; taking, holding, keeping something as one's own.

   The car is in my possession.

   Etymology: From Latin possessiō, possessiōnis.

5. possessionnoun

   A territory under the rule of another country.

   Réunion is the largest of France's overseas possessions.

   Etymology: From Latin possessiō, possessiōnis.

6. possessionnoun

   The condition or affliction of being possessed by a demon or other supernatural entity.

   Back then, people with psychiatric disorders were sometimes thought to be victims of demonic possession.

   Etymology: From Latin possessiō, possessiōnis.

7. possessionnoun

   The condition of being under the control of strong emotion or madness.

   Etymology: From Latin possessiō, possessiōnis.

8. possessionnoun

   Control of the ball; the opportunity to be on the offensive.

   The scoreboard shows a little football symbol next to the name of the team that has possession.

   Etymology: From Latin possessiō, possessiōnis.

9. possessionnoun

   A disposal of the ball during a game, i.e. a kick or a handball.

   Defender Colin O'Riordan had 41 possessions in the NEAFL last week to continue his outstanding form, while Ryan Clarke had 47 in the Swans' big loss to Brisbane.

   Etymology: From Latin possessiō, possessiōnis.

10. possessionnoun

    A syntactic relationship between two nouns or nominals that may be used to indicate ownership.

    Some languages distinguish between a construction like 'my car', which shows alienable possession — the car could become someone else's — and one like 'my foot', which has inalienable possession — my foot will always be mine.

    Etymology: From Latin possessiō, possessiōnis.

Webster Dictionary(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Possessionnoun

   the act or state of possessing, or holding as one's own

   Etymology: [F. possession, L. possessio.]

2. Possessionnoun

   the having, holding, or detention of property in one's power or command; actual seizin or occupancy; ownership, whether rightful or wrongful

   Etymology: [F. possession, L. possessio.]

3. Possessionnoun

   the thing possessed; that which any one occupies, owns, or controls; in the plural, property in the aggregate; wealth; dominion; as, foreign possessions

   Etymology: [F. possession, L. possessio.]

4. Possessionnoun

   the state of being possessed or controlled, as by an evil spirit, or violent passions; madness; frenzy; as, demoniacal possession

   Etymology: [F. possession, L. possessio.]

5. Possessionverb

   to invest with property

   Etymology: [F. possession, L. possessio.]

Freebase(3.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Possession

   In law, possession is the control a person intentionally exercises toward a thing. In all cases, to possess something, a person must have an intention to possess it. A person may be in possession of some property. Like ownership, the possession of things is commonly regulated by states under property law.

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. possession

   To take possession, is the act of occupying any post, camp, fortress, etc., which might facilitate the operations of an army, or which previously belonged to the enemy.

Matched Categories

1. • Control
   • District
   • Enchantment
   • Mania
   • Resoluteness
   • Sport

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'possession' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3364

2. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'possession' in Nouns Frequency: #1180

How to pronounce possession?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say possession in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of possession in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of possession in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of possession in a Sentence

1. President Barack Obama:

   I don't think that there are a lot of folks in. the region who are disappointed that Assad is no longer in possession of one of the biggest stockpiles of chemical weapons of any country on earth, those have been eliminated.

2. Simonides:

   A man gains no possession better than a good woman, nothing more horrible than a bad one.

3. L. Ron Hubbard, Book: Child Dianetics:

   You want to raise your child in such a way that you don't have to control him, so that he will be in full possession of himself at all times. Upon that depends his good behavior, his health, his sanity.

4. Jozy Altidore:

   We just couldnt put our chances away tonight, if Jozy Altidore look at that 10 -, 15-minute period, we kind of lost the game a bit. We were trying to play out of the back and stick to our guns, but maybe it was a time to kind of get up Soldier Field and try to get in their half and kind of change that momentum a bit. Mexico was playing in its first tournament under new coach Tata Martino. El Tri has not lost a competitive match to the U.S. since 2013, winning three, drawing one and re-establishing itself as the regions power. Gregg Berhalter, the first American to coach the national team after playing in the World Cup for the U.S., wants a possession-based team. Qualifying for the 2022 World Cup will not start until next summer, leaving the biennial championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean as the first measuring test.

5. Sallust:

   The renown which riches or beauty confer is fleeting and frail mental excellence is a splendid and lasting possession.

Images & Illustrations of possession

Popularity rank by frequency of use