■ verb ( has , having , had )
1》 (also ~ got ) possess, own, or hold.
↘be made up of; comprise.
↘be able to make use of.
↘know (a language or subject): I had only a little French.
2》 experience; undergo.
↘(also ~ got ) suffer from (an illness or disability).
↘cause to be in a particular state.
↘cause to be done for one by someone else.
3》 ( ~ to or ~ got to ) be obliged to; must.
↘be strongly recommended to.
4》 perform the action indicated by the noun specified: he had a look round.
↘eat or drink.
↘give birth to or be due to give birth to.
5》 (also ~ got ) demonstrate (a personal attribute): he had little patience.
↘[with negative ] refuse to tolerate.
6》 (also ~ got ) place, hold, or keep in a particular position.
7》 be the recipient or host of.
8》 informal cheat or deceive: I realized I'd been had.
9》 vulgar slang ~ sex with.
10》 (also ~ got ) informal ~ put (someone) at a disadvantage in an argument: you've got me there.
■ auxiliary verb used with a past participle to form the perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect tenses, and the conditional mood.
■ noun
1》 (usu. in phr. the ~s and the ~-nots ) informal people with plenty of money.
2》 Brit. informal, dated a swindle.
Phrases
~ had it informal
1》 be beyond repair or revival: the car has had it.
2》 be unable to tolerate any longer.
~ it away (or off ) Brit. vulgar slang ~ sex.
~ ( got ) it in for informal be~ in a hostile way towards.
~ ( got ) it in one (to do something) informal ~ the capacity or potential (to do something).
~ it out informal attempt to resolve a contentious matter by open confrontation.
~ ( got ) nothing on informal be not nearly as good as.
~ nothing (or something ) on someone informal know nothing (or something) discreditable or incriminating about someone.
Phrasal verbs
~ someone on informal try to make someone believe something that is untrue, especially as a joke.
~ something out undergo an operation to extract a part of one's body.
~ someone up Brit. informal bring someone before a court of justice to answer for an alleged offence.
Origin
OE habban , of Gmc origin; prob. related to heave .
Usage
Be careful not to write the word of when you mean ~ or 've : I could've told you that not I could of told you that . The mistake arises from the fact that the pronunciation of ~ in unstressed contexts is the same as that of of , and the two words are confused when writing them down.