pos ‧ sess W3 /pəˈzes/ BrE AmE verb [transitive not in progressive]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: possesser , from Latin possidere ]
1 . formal to have a particular quality or ability:
Different workers possess different skills.
He no longer possessed the power to frighten her.
REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually say that someone has or has got something rather than possesses it:
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They all have different skills.
2 . formal or law to have or own something:
Neither of them possessed a credit card.
Campbell was found guilty of possessing heroin.
3 . what possessed somebody (to do something)? spoken used to say that you cannot understand why someone did something stupid:
What on earth possessed her to do it?
4 . literary if a feeling possesses you, you suddenly feel it very strongly and it affects your behaviour:
A mad rage possessed her.
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THESAURUS
▪ own if you own something, it legally belongs to you:
They live in a flat but they don’t own it.
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The land is owned by farmers.
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a privately owned plane
▪ have [not in passive] to own something – used when focussing on the fact that someone has the use of something, rather than the fact that they legally own it:
How many students have a cell phone?
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I wish I had a sports car.
▪ possess [not in passive] formal to own something:
It is illegal to possess a firearm in Britain.
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I don’t even possess a smart suit!
▪ belong to somebody/something [not in passive] if something belongs to you, you own it:
The ring belonged to my grandmother.
▪ hold to own shares in a company:
One man holds a third of the company’s shares.
▪ be the property of somebody/something formal to be owned by someone – written on signs, labels etc:
This camera is the property of the BBC.