possessionnoun
uk/pəˈzeʃ.ən/us/pəˈzeʃ.ən/C2 [ U ] the fact that you have or own something:
The possession of large amounts of money does not ensure happiness.
formal I have in my possession a letter which may be of interest to you.
formal He was found in possession of explosives.
B2 [ C usually plural ] something that you own or that you are carrying with you at a particular time:
Please remember to take all your personal possessions with you when you leave the aircraft.
[ C usually plural ] a country that is ruled by another country:
a former overseas possession
[ U ] in games such as football and rugby, the time when a team has control of the ball:
Wolves had a lot of possession but failed to score.
We need to keep possession of the ball to give ourselves a chance.
get/take possession of sth specialized
to start to use and control a building or piece of land that you may or may not own:
We've already bought the house but we won't take possession of it until May.
More examples
- Police found a large quantity of drugs in his possession.
- Her most cherished possession is a 1926 letter from F. Scott Fitzgerald.
- She attaches a lot of importance to personal possessions.
- Her photograph is among my most prized possessions.
- This pen that my grandfather gave me is one of my most treasured possessions.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Having and owning - general words
- -owned
- attach to sb/sth
- be endowed with sth idiom
- bear
- bearer
- belong
- belong to sb
- call
- claim
- endow
- glint
- hold
- interest
- mistress
- not/never want for anything idiom
- owner
- ownership
- proprietress
- stake somewhere/sth out
- want
See more results »
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Belongings and possessions
Colonisation & self-government