1
as in hands
the fact or state of having (something) at one's disposal
a student who was found to have several overdue library books in his possession
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in belongings
possessions plural
transportable items that one owns
we packed up all of our possessions and excitedly moved into a new house
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in occupancy
the act or fact of residing in a place
squatters had established possession in the abandoned warehouse
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 possession
Teams start a possession at their 20-yard line — and when a team punts, there’s no kicking.
—
Benjamin Royer, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2025
Reilly, a federally licensed firearms dealer, has been charged with assault in the first degree, the criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and the criminal possession of a firearm, according to police.
—Karina Tsui, CNN Money, 7 May 2025
Law enforcement arrested and charged the owner of the car, 55-year-old Victoria Vidal, with drug possession and three counts of drug paraphernalia and cited her for driving under suspension, the police department said.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 7 May 2025
But with the game on the line in crunch time, Anunoby forced a Cunningham mid-range miss, Bridges forced a Cunningham turnover on a drive to the rim, then Anunoby forced another mid-range miss on the game’s final possession.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 27 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for possession
Benjamin Royer, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2025
Reilly, a federally licensed firearms dealer, has been charged with assault in the first degree, the criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and the criminal possession of a firearm, according to police.
—Karina Tsui, CNN Money, 7 May 2025
Law enforcement arrested and charged the owner of the car, 55-year-old Victoria Vidal, with drug possession and three counts of drug paraphernalia and cited her for driving under suspension, the police department said.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 7 May 2025
But with the game on the line in crunch time, Anunoby forced a Cunningham mid-range miss, Bridges forced a Cunningham turnover on a drive to the rim, then Anunoby forced another mid-range miss on the game’s final possession.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 27 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for possession
Recent Examples of Synonyms for possession
Noun
-
The burden will increasingly shift onto city agencies like the Department of Building and Safety to serve thousands of homeowners and businesses seeking plan checks, permits, inspections and certificates of occupancy.—
Matt Hamilton,
Los Angeles Times,
18 May 2025
-
The fire was initially upgraded to a second alarm before a third alarm was activated based on the size of the building and its occupancy, according to fire officials.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
14 May 2025
Noun
-
Here's exactly how and when to harvest peony flowers for maximum enjoyment, according to a flower farmer.—
Erica Browne Grivas,
Better Homes & Gardens,
14 May 2025
-
Special plants can provide a certain enjoyment or hold a symbolic meaning.—
Clarence Schmidt,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 May 2025
Noun
-
The challenge has always been to figure out how to personalize things without spending inordinate amounts of time and money mapping out every possible path a student might take.—
Ray Ravaglia,
Forbes,
28 Dec. 2024
-
As a business owner, higher profit margins, all other things being equal, are more valuable.—
Bill Stone,
Forbes,
28 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
Vita's Ukrainian mother (my grandmother) survived as an orphan for two years under German occupation and barely evaded being carted off to Germany to work as a forced laborer.—
Sasha Vasilyuk,
Time,
8 May 2025
-
In a little over a month, the Polish Army was defeated, and the country of Poland came under Nazi and Soviet occupation.—
Paul Hockenos,
Smithsonian Magazine,
8 May 2025
Noun
-
Here’s the really good news among the bad critical vulnerability disclosure stuff: there is no patch to install, no updates to deploy, and no action required by the user at all.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes.com,
11 May 2025
-
The following day the student discovered that someone had rummaged through the car and thrown stuff around, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by the Star-Telegram.—
Shambhavi Rimal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 May 2025
Noun
-
The base itself was a study in the feasibility of long-term human habitation on the ice sheet.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN,
15 Mar. 2025
-
All of this is now possible thanks to an advanced 3D printing-welding approach that can print these large habitation structures.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
31 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Possession.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/possession. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share