own

verb

owned; owning; owns

1

a

transitive : to have or hold as property : possess

They dream of owning a home one day.

a publicly/privately owned company

He struts around here like he owns the place.

b

transitive : to have power or mastery over : dominate

The Lions absolutely owned the Packers in the first half, with … three touchdowns, four sacks and an interception …

—Emmett Prosser

c

transitive : to humiliate or embarrass (someone) in view of others and especially online

When you get owned by Wendy's on Twitter, it's safe to say your rap career is a bust.

—Bernadette Giacomazzo

2

a

transitive + intransitive : acknowledge, admit

owned their mistake

(old-fashioned) I own that I misjudged him.

(old-fashioned) "… I must own to being a little disappointed. …"

—Timothy Shay Arthur born 1809

see also own up

b

transitive : to manage or affirm (something) in a way that conveys a sense of pride, accomplishment, or conviction

She owns her femininity, her body, and her expression of herself … despite what anyone else thinks about her.

—Leigh Ann Ripka, quoted in The Acadiana Advocate (Lafayette, Louisiana)

Instead of shying away from taking credit for an expanded IRS, Democrats should own it and communicate to the public just why this is an excellent deal.

—The New York Daily News

Synonyms of own

• confess
• admit

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

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

San Antonio owned an 11-point lead after the first quarter, as Wembanyama scored nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, while Castle was a perfect 3-of-3 for seven points. —Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 9 June 2026

That lump sum pales in comparison with what the lease has already made for the parking system’s private owners, led by Morgan Stanley, alongside Deeside Investments, a firm reportedly nearly half owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. —Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2026

Prologis is the world's largest industrial REIT, owning and operating roughly 758 million square feet of logistics and distribution facilities. —Josh Brown,sean Russo, CNBC, 8 June 2026

The Athletic, a sports publication owned by the New York Times, wrote an article claiming the shooting was next to England’s base. —Julianna Mejia, Kansas City Star, 8 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

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.

First Known Use

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

Phrases Containing own

• after one's own heart
• a legend in one's own time
• all its own
• all someone's own
• a taste/dose of someone's own medicine
• at one's own peril
• at one's own risk
• at someone's own pace
• at their own expense
• at your own risk
• beat someone at their own game
• be/become one's own man
• be left to one's own devices
• bend under one's own weight
• be one's own boss
• blow one's own horn
• blow one's own trumpet
• bring your own bottle
• by one's own account
• by one's own admission
• by one's own bootstraps
• by one's own hand
• call my own
• come into one's own
• co-own
• cut one's own throat
• died by her own hand
• dig one's own grave
• do one's own thing
• each to his own
• for one's own benefit
• for one's own good
• get one's own back
• gone his own way
• go one's own way
• have a mind of one's own
• have/get one's (own) way
• have it one's (own) way
• hoist by one's own petard
• hoist with one's own petard
• hold one's own
• in a league of one's own
• in a world of one's own
• in its own right
• in its own time
• in one's own (good) time
• in one's own right
• in one's (own) sweet time
• in one's own time
• in one's own world
• in the comfort of one's own home
• into one's own pockets
• know one's own heart/mind
• lead one's own life
• leave someone to his or her own devices
• make (something) one's own
• make up your own mind
• not know one's own strength
• off one's own bat
• of its own accord
• of one's own accord
• of one's own making
• of one's own volition
• of one's very own
• one's own man
• one's very own
• on one's own
• on one's own account
• on one's own authority
• on one's own hook
• on one's own initiative
• on one's own merits
• on one's own responsibility
• on one's own terms
• on one's own time
• on someone's own recognizance
• on their own merits
• out of one's own pocket
• own-brand
• own goal
• own-label
• own up
• pay one's own way
• plough one's own furrow
• pull one's own weight
• run/live one's own life
• run one's own life
• seed/seeds of one's own destruction
• set one's own house in order
• sign one's own death warrant
• stand on one's own feet
• stand on one's own two feet
• stew in one's own juice/juices
• take matters into one's own hands
• take on a life of its own
• take one's own life
• take one's (own) sweet time
• take (something) into one's (own) hands
• take the law into one's own hands
• to call one's own
• to each his own
• toot one's own horn
• under its own steam
• under one's own power
• very own
• write one's own ticket

Rhymes for own

• blown
• clone
• cone
• crone
• drone
• flown
• groan
• grown
• hone
• joan
• jone
• known

Kids Definition

own

1 of 3 adjective

ˈōn 

: 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

ˈō-nər 

noun

ownership

-ˌship

noun

own

3 of 3 singular or plural pronoun

: 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