own
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /əʊn/
ipa: /ɑːn/
ipa: /aʊn/
ipa: /əʊn/
enpr: ōn
ipa: /oʊn/
ipa: /uŋ/
rhymes: -əʊn
Forms: form: owns
form: owning
form: owned
form: owned
Etymology: A back-formation from owner, owning and own (adjective). Compare Old English āgnian, Dutch eigenen, German eignen, Swedish ägna.
Senses: examples: text: I own this car.
glosses: To have rightful possession of (property, goods or capital); to have legal title to; to acquire a property or asset.
examples: text: The United States owns Point Roberts by the terms of the Treaty of Oregon.
glosses: To have recognized political sovereignty over a place, territory, as distinct from the ordinary connotation of property ownership.
examples: text: I will own my enemies.
text: If he wins, he will own you.
glosses: To defeat or embarrass; to overwhelm.
glosses: To virtually or figuratively enslave.
topics: games
gaming
synonyms: pwn
glosses: To defeat, dominate, or be above.
examples: text: "TH15 5Y5T3M 15 0WN3D"
ref: 1996 June 21, The Happiest Dragon Alive!!, “Re: An unusual situation”, in (Usenet), retrieved 24 Sep 2016, message-ID <4qe8pc$8ti@nerd.apk.net>:
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
synonyms: pwn
0wn
glosses: To illicitly obtain superuser or root access to a computer system, thereby having access to all of the user files on that system.
glosses: To be very good.
examples: text: I must own that I have been at fault all this time.
text: I own thy speechless, placeless power; but to the last gasp of my earthquake life will dispute its unconditional, unintegral mastery in me.
ref: 1851, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick:
text: For instance, when I flung the cat out of an upper window (though I did it from no ill-feeling, and it didn't hurt the cat), I was ready, after a moment's reflection, to own I was wrong, as a gentleman should.
ref: 1895, Kenneth Graham, The Golden Age, London, page 6:
text: I am sorry to own I began to worry then.
ref: 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I:
text: They learned how perfectly peaceful the home could be. And they almost regretted—though none of them would have owned to such callousness—that their father was soon coming back.
ref: 1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 5, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:
glosses: To admit, concede, grant, allow, acknowledge, confess; not to deny.
examples: text: Two of those fellows you must know and own.
ref: 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, (please specify the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)]:
text: It must be owned, the good Jocelin, spite of his beautiful childlike character, is but an altogether imperfect 'mirror' of these old-world things!
ref: 1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, “1, ’’Jocelin of Brakelond’’”, in Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, book II (The Ancient Monk):
glosses: To admit; concede; acknowledge.
examples: text: "Well, I'm not hiding anymore! I'm owning my girly looks with cute short pink hair!"
ref: 2014 April 17, Dan Shive, El Goonish Shive (webcomic), Comic for Thursday, Apr 17, 2014:
glosses: To proudly acknowledge; to not be ashamed or embarrassed of.
examples: text: Representative Nancy Mace, Republican of South Carolina, told reporters that Democrats “own” the assassination of Mr. Kirk. When a reporter questioned her about attacks on Democrats, she cut him off. “Democrats own this,” she said. “We’re talking about Charlie Kirk right now.”
ref: 2025 September 11, Luke Broadwater, Alan Feuer, quoting Nancy Mace, “As Political Violence Rises, Trump Condemns One Side”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:
glosses: To take responsibility for.
examples: text: to own one as a son
glosses: To recognise; acknowledge.
glosses: To claim as one's own.
glosses: To confess.
Synonyms: sense: have rightful possession of
word: to possess
sense: have rightful possession of
word: acquire
sense: have rightful possession of
word: have to one's name
sense: have rightful possession of
word: property of
sense: have rightful possession of
word: title to
sense: defeat
word: beat
sense: defeat
word: defeat
sense: defeat
word: overcome
sense: defeat
word: overthrow
sense: defeat
word: vanquish
sense: defeat
word: have
sense: defeat
word: take
sense: defeat
word: best
Derived terms: co-own
disown
misown
ownability
ownable
ownage
owndom
owner
own up
part-own
pwn
self-own
state-owned
you will own nothing and be happy