have

(hăv)

verb had had (hăd), hav·ing, has has (hăz) verb, transitive

1. a. To be in possession of: already had a car.
   b. To possess as a characteristic, quality, or function: has a beard; had a great deal of energy.
   c. To possess or contain as a constituent part: a car that has air bags.
2. To occupy a particular relation to: had many disciples.
3. To possess knowledge of or facility in: has very little Spanish.
4. To hold in the mind; entertain: had doubts about their loyalty.
5. To use or exhibit in action: have compassion.
6. a. To come into possession of; acquire: Not one copy of the book was to be had in the entire town.
   b. To receive; get: I had a letter from my cousin.
   c. To accept; take: I'll have the peas instead of the spinach.
7. a. To suffer from: have defective vision.
   b. To be subject to the experience of: had a difficult time last winter.
8. a. To cause to do something, as by persuasion or compulsion: had my assistant run the errand.
   b. To cause to be in a specified place or state: had the guests in the dining room; had everyone fascinated.
9. To permit; allow: I won't have that kind of behavior in my house.
10. To carry on, perform, or execute: have an argument.
11. a. To place at a disadvantage: Your opponent in the debate had you on every issue.
    b. Informal To get the better of, especially by trickery or deception: They realized too late that they'd been had by a swindler.
    c. Informal To influence by dishonest means; bribe: an incorruptible official who could not be had.
12. a. To procreate (offspring): wanted to have a child.
    b. To give birth to; bear: She's going to have a baby.
13. To partake of: have lunch.
14. To be obliged to; must: We simply have to get there on time.
15. To engage in sexual intercourse with.

verbaux. nounPhrasal Verbs: have at To attack. have on To wear: had on red shoes. To be scheduled: We have a dinner party on for Friday.Usage Note: The idioms had better and had best resemble an auxiliary verb in that their form never changes to show person or tense and that they cannot follow another verb in a phrase. In informal speech, people tend to omit had, especially with had better, as in You better do it. In formal contexts and in writing, however, had or its contraction must be preserved: You had better do it or You'd better do it. See Usage Note at rather.