1
as in owned
to keep, control, or experience as one's own
my uncle has a sizable collection of black powder rifles
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in accepted
to agree to receive whether willingly or reluctantly
we decided that I would have the job of calling the volunteers on the phone she refused to have him as a husband
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in produced
to bring forth from the womb
her grandmother had 11 children
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in deceived
to cause to believe what is untrue
he'd been had —the painting was a fake, and he never saw the "art dealer" or his money again
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in experienced
to come to a knowledge of (something) by living through it
had a great time at the party had three operations on her leg
Synonyms & Similar Words
6
as in allowed
to give permission for or to approve of
I will not have any more nonsense about a party in celebration of my retirement
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
7
as in bribed
to influence someone with a bribe
an upstanding judge who could not be had at any price
Synonyms & Similar Words
8
as in held
to keep in one's mind or heart
I have never had an unkind thought for him do you have an opinion?
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of had
The water, too, was wild—the Allegheny and its tributaries had yet to be dammed, and Flag Swamp was noted as one of the last hideouts for beavers in the state.
—
Literary Hub, 10 June 2026
Elections officials still had about 13,000 ballots left to count across all of Yolo County as of Tuesday afternoon.
—Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 10 June 2026
The decision had nothing to do with the execution method.
—Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 10 June 2026
The Dodgers had runners on base in five of the innings, in scoring position in four of those.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 10 June 2026
It was alleged that Murphy had years of misconduct, which included improperly touching genitals during massages and intrusive observation during urine sampling for drug tests.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 10 June 2026
Attleboro went down with just a walk and a strikeout in the seventh, but still had Central Catholic down to its last three outs.
—Jack Murray, Boston Herald, 10 June 2026
But yes, that was cold-blooded to Dickson, who clearly had a crush on her.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 5 Mar. 2025
Police had Bumgardner take a breathalyzer test twice, several minutes apart.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 5 Mar. 2025
Literary Hub, 10 June 2026
Elections officials still had about 13,000 ballots left to count across all of Yolo County as of Tuesday afternoon.
—Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 10 June 2026
The decision had nothing to do with the execution method.
—Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 10 June 2026
The Dodgers had runners on base in five of the innings, in scoring position in four of those.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 10 June 2026
It was alleged that Murphy had years of misconduct, which included improperly touching genitals during massages and intrusive observation during urine sampling for drug tests.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 10 June 2026
Attleboro went down with just a walk and a strikeout in the seventh, but still had Central Catholic down to its last three outs.
—Jack Murray, Boston Herald, 10 June 2026
But yes, that was cold-blooded to Dickson, who clearly had a crush on her.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 5 Mar. 2025
Police had Bumgardner take a breathalyzer test twice, several minutes apart.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 5 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for had
Verb
-
More than three-quarters of America’s financial assets, including stocks, are owned by the top 20% — and more than a quarter by the top 1%.—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
29 May 2026
-
Also included in this zone is the adjacent unnamed development (owned by the same developers as Lee + White), which is the new home of the Atlanta Food Truck Park, and Bogg’s Social and Supply next door.—
Kate Williams,
AJC.com,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Rathore said Saturday the government had accepted 36 of the group’s 38 demands last year after negotiations involving JAAC representatives, regional officials and Pakistan’s federal government.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 June 2026
-
The event will be cashless, with only credit cards, debit cards or mobile pay accepted.—
Jad El Reda
Columnist,
Los Angeles Times,
7 June 2026
Verb
-
This past awards season, the brand hosted a pre-Oscars dinner with nominee Stellan Skarsgård, who also starred in a short film produced by the brand, which was filmed at the storied (West) Hollywood haunt.—
Madeleine Schulz,
Vogue,
6 June 2026
-
The quality adjustment problem does not reside in nominal GDP, which simply asks what was spent, earned, or produced in current dollars, but rather in the deflator applied to convert those nominal figures into real terms.—
James Broughel,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
Verb
-
The problem is, most people feel deceived when the person in front of them doesn't match the profile.—
Charles Trepany,
USA Today,
9 June 2026
-
Do not be deceived by this seemingly simple question.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
All of these scenes are a reminder that the city hasn’t experienced a collective sports viewership like this in a long time, because the Knicks just haven’t been this good in … forever.—
Jeremy Rellosa,
Curbed,
4 June 2026
-
Deadline reported that some AMC customers experienced wait times of up to an hour before the queues shortened later in the day.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 June 2026
Verb
-
Then, around 15,000 years ago, during a period of global cooling, the emergence of the Bering Land Bridge allowed elk to cross from eastern Siberia into westernmost Alaska, and eventually, into the rest of its historic North American range.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2026
-
However, public fossil collecting at the park is not allowed.—
USA TODAY Network,
USA Today,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
Two months later, chairman Lord Triesman, who passed away earlier this year, was forced to quit after being recorded speculating about referees being bribed at the World Cup.—
Jack Pitt-Brooke,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
-
Then, Chang-ho bribed Ye-jin’s chief competition at HIT Home Shopping, Yun-ji (Park Ah-in), to get the Good Morning Cream on the broadcast product list.—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
The rapper, who pleaded not guilty to all charges, has been held at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center since he was arrested in September 2024.—
Daniel S. Levine,
People.com,
6 Aug. 2025
-
That means every state budget could be held hostage until the whims of a small fraction of legislators is satisfied.—
Ross O'Keefe,
The Washington Examiner,
6 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Had.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/had. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
