own

1 of 3

adjective

ˈōn 

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

Synonyms

Verb

• admit
• confess
• cop (to) [slang]
• fess (up)

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

Prior to striking out on her own, Chlöe released two albums and a couple of EPs with her sister, Halle Bailey. —Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 12 Apr. 2024

As with their debt cancellation efforts, federal officials are pushing the change through on their own, avoiding Congress altogether. —Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024

After caring for a family of her own, Freya cannot wait to be the one that is doted on in her future forever home. —The Arizona Republic, 12 Apr. 2024

On their own, Bank of America, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase financed 24.4 million metric tons of these CO2e emissions. —Monique Mikhail, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2024

Participants can bring their own books or borrow a book from the shelter’s education library. —Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2024

And, to that end, Socolow said Murdoch was energized to launch his right-wing alternative in 1996 to grab his own slice of the lucrative pie. —Oliver Darcy, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024

These scenes and supporting characters reflect so much of our modern-day political discourse, which is populated by people who come for the necks of their own allies for not entirely subscribing to the most extreme, most perfect form of their ideology. —Richard Newby, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Apr. 2024

But why should the oil merchant, or the wine merchant, or the cloth merchant have to suffer on their own for a decision made by the crew? —Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 31 Mar. 2024

Verb

Simpson also owned a Bronco, but it was seized as evidence after blood was found inside. —Ben Finley, Quartz, 13 Apr. 2024

The ship seized on Saturday is owned by Gortal Shipping, an affiliate of Zodiac Maritime. —Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024

Guardiola was wearing an extravagant Richard Mille watch worth £1 million ($1.26 million) on his wrist at Madrid’s Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, according to TNT Sports, which is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company. —Issy Ronald, CNN, 13 Apr. 2024

The Storm Family Group owns and operates Brookfield Hills and Missing Links (Mequon) golf courses. —Cathy Kozlowicz, Journal Sentinel, 12 Apr. 2024

Dickies may have moved out of its West Vickery Boulevard campus, (the Williamson family still owns the building), but the company isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. —Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Apr. 2024

Zhang, who actually used to own a Yaso Kitchen operation, identified worker productivity as a part of business that could use a tune-up. —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2024

Trump, the 45th president of the United States who is the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, owns 78.75 million shares of TMTG stock, representing 57.6% of the company’s shares, according to a regulatory filing. —Todd Spangler, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024

Falling office values have led to foreclosures on some prominent office towers, including 444 S. Flower St., which was owned by Sischo’s company, Coretrust Capital Partners. —Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024

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

Phrases Containing own

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

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 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