own

1 of 3

adjective

1
: belonging to oneself or itself
usually used following a possessive case or possessive adjective
cooked my own dinner
was responsible for his own bad luck
2
used to express immediate or direct kinship
an own son
an own sister
my own family

own

2 of 3

verb

owned; owning; owns

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

own

3 of 3

pronoun

singular or plural in construction
: 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
Phrases
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
Choose the Right Synonym for 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

Examples of own in a Sentence

Verb 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.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
But as Christian points out, any hunter unfamiliar with the area, through no fault of their own, is likely to voice support for more hunting opportunity regardless of the circumstances. Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 8 Mar. 2024 As a result, turning the camera on himself in a film about his own father posed a new challenge for him. Savina Petkova, Variety, 7 Mar. 2024 Beverly has never been nominated for a Grammy – on his own or with Maze. NAACP will recognize winners in non–televised Image Awards categories from March 11-13 on its website, during the Awards Dinner on March 14 and Fashion Show on March 15. Paul Grein, Billboard, 7 Mar. 2024 This colorful gardening set comes with a sturdy canvas tote that stands up on its own and holds a watering can, gloves, rake, shovel, and pitchfork. Laura Lu, Parents, 7 Mar. 2024 People with lactose intolerance cannot produce enough lactase on their own. Brittany Lubeck, Ms, Rdn, Verywell Health, 7 Mar. 2024 That said, your chances of finding, say, an inflatable bed that conveniently doubles as a staircase—or the resources to make your own from scratch—is very, very low. Kelsey Mulvey, Sunset Magazine, 7 Mar. 2024 What's more relatable than talking about our relationship and what's going on in our own lives? Stephanie Wenger, Peoplemag, 7 Mar. 2024 In Damsel, Elodie tries to escape the conventions of her own story. Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2024
Verb
The 43-year-old man was charged March 7 with theft for stealing from the Four Winds Casino, which is owned by the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi Tribe, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan. Kate Linderman, Kansas City Star, 8 Mar. 2024 Residents in this household own a car valued at $26,420, based on the best selling cars last year. David Lightman, Sacramento Bee, 8 Mar. 2024 Burrell’s parents, Pearlie and Roosevelt Burrell Jr., owned Chamberlain Plaza and operated their businesses in the plaza. Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Mar. 2024 Lagerfeld owned many homes over the years, including an apartment in New York’s Gramercy Park and a villa in France. Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 8 Mar. 2024 Janet Song owns seasonal-pickle purveyor In a Pickle, and traveled from Long Beach to be there. Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2024 According to a recent Oxfam report, men globally now own $105 trillion more wealth than women, which is four times the size of the U.S. economy. Luba Kassova, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2024 Segura owns a podcasting company, Your Mom’s House Studios, and the tour section of each of their respective websites is jam-packed with stand-up dates. Nicole Fell, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Mar. 2024 Summer Lucille Summer Lucille owns the plus-size boutique Juicy Body Goddess at Charlotte’s Northlake Mall, which sells sizes 12-30, or XL-6XL. Jodie Valade, Charlotte Observer, 8 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'own.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English oȝen, owen, awen, going back to Old English āgen, originally past participle of āgan "to possess, own, have" — more at owe

Note: Similar use of the past participle of the cognate verb is evident in other Germanic languages: Old Frisian āin, ēin, ēgen "own," Old Saxon ēgan, Middle Dutch ēghin, eighen, Old High German eigan, Old Icelandic eiginn.

Verb

probably verbal derivative of own entry 1

Note: This verb is apparently unattested before the late sixteenth century, and is not continuous with early Middle English æȝenen, ahnen, ahnien (Layamon's Brut, Ormulum) "to gain control of, have possession of," going back to Old English āgnian "to own, possess, take possession of" (with parallel forms in other Germanic languages), a derivative of āgen own entry 1. Compare owner, from which own may be in part a back-formation.

Pronoun

Middle English owne, going back to Old English āgen, nominalized form of āgen own entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Pronoun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of own was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near own

Cite this Entry

“Own.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/own. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

own

1 of 3 adjective
: belonging to oneself or itself
my own room

own

2 of 3 verb
1
a
: to have or hold as property : possess
b
: to have power or control over
wanted to own her own life
2
: to admit that something is true : confess
owned to being scared
if you broke the window, own up
owner noun
ownership
-ˌship
noun

own

3 of 3 pronoun singular or plural
: one or ones belonging to oneself
used after a possessive
dog of his own

Legal Definition

own

transitive verb
: to have or hold as property
especially : to have title to
own property

More from Merriam-Webster on own

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