Definition of possess Possess

/pʌzɛˈs/ - [puzes] - pos•sess

We found 16 definitions of possess from 7 different sources.

What does possess mean?

WordNet

Verb possesses, possessing, possessed
possess - have as an attribute, knowledge, or skill; "he possesses great knowledge about the Middle East"
		feature, have suffer from; be ill with; "She has arthritis"
		exhibit show an attribute, property, knowledge, or skill; "he exhibits a great talent"
possess - enter into and control, as of emotions or ideas; "What possessed you to buy this house?"; "A terrible rage possessed her"
		dominate have dominance or the power to defeat over; "Her pain completely mastered her"; "The methods can master the problems"
possess - have ownership or possession of; "He owns three houses in Florida"; "How many cars does she have?"
		own, have
		prepossess make a positive impression (on someone) beforehand; "A prepossessing appearance"
		feature, have suffer from; be ill with; "She has arthritis"

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Wiktionary

possess (Verb)
To have; to have ownership of.
possess (Verb)
To take control of someone's body or mind, especially in a supernatural manner.
possess (Verb)
To vest ownership in someone; to give someone power or knowledge; to acquaint; to inform.

Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘

possess (v. t.)
To occupy in person; to hold or actually have in one's own keeping; to have and to hold.
possess (v. t.)
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.
possess (v. t.)
To obtain occupation or possession of; to accomplish; to gain; to seize.
possess (v. t.)
To enter into and influence; to control the will of; to fill; to affect; -- said especially of evil spirits, passions, etc.
possess (v. t.)
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.

OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω

possess
To have rightful possession of property, goods or capital.
possess
To be in possession (of an object).

Chambers DictionaryChamber's 20th Century Dictionary 📕

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.]

Wikipedia

To possess is to have or to own. "I possess all my teeth," means I still have all I was born with. "The woman possesses five cars," means she owns five cars. A "possession" is something you own. "My only "possessions" are my cat and my brains."

In some beliefs, to be possessed is to be under the control of devils, demons, or evil spirits. These people may do evil or terrible things because of their "possession." Sometimes this "possession" was because the person had epilepsy. As the reasons for epilepsy were not known people decided it was caused by evil.

Part of speech

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possess, verb, present, 1st person singular of possess (infinitive).
possess, verb (infinitive).

Pronunciation

Word frequency

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Common

Sign Language

possess in sign language