Definition of own
(Entry 1 of 3)
1 : belonging to oneself or itself
—usually used following a possessive case or possessive adjectivecooked my own dinnerwas responsible for his own bad luck
2 —used to express immediate or direct kinshipan own sonan own sistermy own family
own
verbowned; owning; owns
Definition of own (Entry 2 of 3)
1a : 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
: to acknowledge something to be true, valid, or as claimed
—used with to or up
Definition of own (Entry 3 of 3)
: one or ones belonging to oneself
—used after a possessive and without a following noungave out books so that each of us had our owna 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
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Share own
Time Traveler for own
The first known use of own was before the 12th century
See more words from the same century