own

play

adjective \ˈōn\

Definition of own

1 : belonging to oneself or itself —usually used following a possessive case or possessive adjective <cooked my own dinner>
2 —used to express immediate or direct kinship <an own son> <an own sister>

See own defined for English-language learners

See own defined for kids

Origin of own

Middle English owen, from Old English āgen; akin to Old High German eigan own, Old Norse eiginn, Old English āgan to possess — more at owe

First Known Use: before 12th century

Rhymes with own

blown, bone, clone, cone, crone, drone, flown, groan, grown, hone, known, loan, lone, moan, Mon, none, phone, pone, prone, Rhône, roan, Saône, scone, sone, stone, throne, tone, zone

own

verb

Simple Definition of own

: to have (something) as property : to legally possess (something)
: to admit that something is true

Full Definition of own

transitive verb
1 a : to have or hold as property : possess b : to have power or mastery over <wanted to own his own life>
2 : to acknowledge to be true, valid, or as claimed : admit <own a debt>
intransitive verb
: to acknowledge something to be true, valid, or as claimed —used with to or up

owner play \ˈō-nər\ noun

See own defined for English-language learners

Examples of own in a sentence

We hope to someday own our own home.
She drives a red truck that was originally owned by her grandfather.
He owns the rights to the band's music.
The couple owns and operates the business.
After everyone else denied any responsibility, he owned that he was at fault.

Before 12th Century

First Known Use of own

before 12th century

Synonym Discussion of own

acknowledge, admit, own, avow, confess mean to disclose against one's will or inclination. acknowledge implies the disclosing of something that has been or might be concealed <acknowledged an earlier peccadillo>. admit implies reluctance to disclose, grant, or concede and refers usually to facts rather than their implications <admitted the project was over budget>. own implies acknowledging something in close relation to oneself <must own I know little about computers>. avow implies boldly declaring, often in the face of hostility, what one might be expected to be silent about <avowed that he was a revolutionary>. confess may apply to an admission of a weakness, failure, omission, or guilt <confessed a weakness for sweets>.

Other Economics Terms

actuary, compound interest, globalization, indemnity, portfolio, rentier, stagflation, usurer

own

pronoun, singular or plural in construction

Definition of own

: one or ones belonging to oneself —used after a possessive and without a following noun <gave out books so that each of us had our own> <a room of your own>

on one's own

1 : for or by oneself : independently of assistance or control <made the decision on his own>
2 : left to rely entirely on one's own resources <if you mess up, you're on your own>

Before 12th Century

First Known Use of own

before 12th century

OWN Defined for Kids

own

play

adjective \ˈōn\

Definition of own for Students

—used to show the fact that something belongs to or relates to a particular person or thing and no other <I have my own room.> <The hotel has its own theater.>