/ həv; NAmE ; əv; strong form hæv/ verb , auxiliary verb
➡ irregular verbs
■ verb
(In some senses have got is also used, especially in British English.)
OWN / HOLD
1.
(also have got ) [ vn ] (not used in the progressive tenses) to own, hold or possess sth :
He had a new car and a boat.
Have you got a job yet?
I don't have that much money on me.
She's got a BA in English.
CONSIST OF
2.
(also have got ) [ vn ] (not used in the progressive tenses) be made up of :
In 1999 the party had 10 000 members.
QUALITY / FEATURE
3.
(also have got ) (not used in the progressive tenses) to show a quality or feature :
[ vn ]
The ham had a smoky flavour.
The house has gas-fired central heating.
They have a lot of courage.
[ vn - adj ]
He's got a front tooth missing.
4.
(also have got ) [ vn to inf ] (not used in the progressive tenses) to show a particular quality by your actions :
Surely she didn't have the nerve to say that to him?
RELATIONSHIP
5.
(also have got ) [ vn ] (not used in the progressive tenses) used to show a particular relationship :
He's got three children.
Do you have a client named Peters?
STH AVAILABLE
6.
(also have got ) [ vn ] (not used in the progressive tenses) to be able to make use of sth because it is available :
Have you got time to call him?
We have no choice in the matter.
SHOULD / MUST
7.
(also have got ) [ vn ] (not used in the progressive tenses) to be in a position where you ought to do sth :
We have a duty to care for the refugees.
8.
(also have got ) (not used in the progressive tenses) to be in a position of needing to do sth :
[ vn ]
I've got a lot of homework tonight.
[ vn to inf ]
I must go—I have a bus to catch.
HOLD
9.
(also have got ) [ vn + adv. / prep. ] (not used in the progressive tenses) to hold sb/sth in the way mentioned :
She'd got him by the collar.
He had his head in his hands.
PUT / KEEP IN A POSITION
10.
(also have got ) [ vn + adv. / prep. ] (not used in the progressive tenses) to place or keep sth in a particular position :
Mary had her back to me.
I soon had the fish in a net.
FEELING / THOUGHT
11.
(also have got ) [ vn ] (not used in the progressive tenses) to let a feeling or thought come into your mind :
He had the strong impression that someone was watching him.
We've got a few ideas for the title.
( informal )
I've got it! We'll call it 'Word Magic'.
ILLNESS
12.
(also have got ) [ vn ] (not used in the progressive tenses) to suffer from an illness or a disease :
I've got a headache.
EXPERIENCE
13.
[ vn ] to experience sth :
I went to a few parties and had a good time.
I was having difficulty in staying awake.
She'll have an accident one day.
EVENT
14.
[ vn ] to organize or hold an event :
Let's have a party.
EAT / DRINK / SMOKE
15.
[ vn ] to eat, drink or smoke sth :
to have breakfast / lunch / dinner
I'll have the salmon (= for example, in a restaurant) .
I had a cigarette while I was waiting.
DO STH
16.
[ vn ] to perform a particular action :
I had a swim to cool down.
( BrE )
to have a wash / shower / bath
GIVE BIRTH
17.
[ vn ] to give birth to sb/sth :
She's going to have a baby.
EFFECT
18.
[ vn ] to produce a particular effect :
His paintings had a strong influence on me as a student.
The colour green has a restful effect.
RECEIVE
19.
[ vn ] (not usually used in the progressive tenses) to receive sth from sb :
I had a letter from my brother this morning.
Can I have the bill, please?
20.
[ vn ] to be given sth; to have sth done to you :
I'm having treatment for my back problem.
How many driving lessons have you had so far?
21.
(also have got ) [ vn -ing ] (not used in the progressive tenses) to experience the effects of sb's actions :
We have orders coming in from all over the world.
HAVE STH DONE
22.
[ vn ] (used with a past participle) have sth done to suffer the effects of what sb else does to you :
She had her bag stolen.
23.
[ vn ] (used with a past participle) have sth done to cause sth to be done for you by sb else :
You've had your hair cut!
We're having our car repaired.
24.
to tell or arrange for sb to do sth for you :
[ vn inf ]
He had the bouncers throw them out of the club.
( informal )
I'll have you know (= I'm telling you) I'm a black belt in judo.
[ vn + adv. / prep. ]
She's always having the builders in to do something or other.
ALLOW
25.
(used in negative sentences, especially after will not , cannot , etc.) to allow sth; to accept sth without complaining :
[ vn ]
I'm sick of your rudeness—I won't have it any longer!
[ vn -ing ]
We can't have people arriving late all the time.
PUT SB / STH IN A CONDITION
26.
to cause sb/sth to be in a particular state; to make sb react in a particular way :
[ vn - adj ]
I want to have everything ready in good time.
[ vn -ing ]
He had his audience listening attentively.
IN ARGUMENT
27.
(also have got ) [ vn ] ( informal ) (not used in the progressive tenses) to put sb at a disadvantage in an argument :
You've got me there . I hadn't thought of that.
SEX
28.
[ vn ] ( slang ) to have sex with sb :
He had her in his office.
TRICK
29.
[ vn ] [ usually passive ] ( informal ) to trick or cheat sb :
I'm afraid you've been had.
GUESTS
30.
[ vn ] [ no passive ] to take care of sb/sth in your home, especially for a limited period :
We're having the kids for the weekend.
31.
[ vn + adv. / prep. ] [ no passive ] to entertain sb in your home :
We had some friends to dinner last night.
BE WITH
32.
(also have got ) [ vn ] have sb with you (not used in the progressive tenses) to be with sb :
She had some friends with her.
FOR A JOB
33.
[ vn ] [ no passive ] have sb as sth to take or accept sb for a particular role :
Who can we have as treasurer?
•
IDIOMS
Most idioms containing have are at the entries for the nouns and adjectives in the idioms, for example have your eye on sb is at eye n.
- have done with sth
- have had it
- have it off / away (with sb)
- have it (that ... )
- have (got) it / that coming (to you)
- have it in for sb
- have it in you (to do sth)
- have (got) nothing on sb/sth
- not having any
- what have you
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- have (got) sth against sb/sth
- have sb back
- have sth back
- have (got) sth in
- have sb on
- have (got) sth on
- have (got) sth on sb
- have sth out
- have sth out (with sb)
- have sb up (for sth)
■ auxiliary verb
used with the past participle to form perfect tenses :
I've finished my work.
He's gone home, hasn't he?
'Have you seen it?' 'Yes, I have / No, I haven't.'
She'll have had the results by now.
Had they left before you got there?
If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I wouldn't have believed it.
( formal )
Had I known that (= if I had known that) I would never have come.
••
BRITISH / AMERICAN
have you got / do you have
Have got is the usual verb in BrE to show possession, etc. in positive statements in the present tense, in negative statements and in questions:
They've got a wonderful house.
•
We haven't got a television.
•
Have you got a meeting today?
Questions and negative statements formed with do are also common:
Do you have any brothers and sisters?
•
We don't have a car
.
Have is also used but is more formal:
I have no objection to your request.
•
Have you an appointment?
Some expressions with have are common even in informal language:
I'm sorry, I haven't a clue.
In the past tense had is used in positive statements. In negatives and questions, forms with did have are usually used:
They had a wonderful house.
•
We didn't have much time.
•
Did she have her husband with her?
In NAmE have and forms with do / does / did are the usual way to show possession, etc. in positive statements, negatives and questions:
They have a wonderful house.
•
We don't have a television.
•
Do you have a meeting today?
Have got is not used in questions, but is used in positive statements, especially to emphasize that somebody has one thing rather than another:
'Does your brother have brown hair?' 'No, he's got blond hair.'
In both BrE and NAmE have and forms with do / does and did are used when you are referring to a habit or routine:
We don't often have time to talk.
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English habban , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hebben and German haben , also probably to heave .