have reason

verb — 2 senses

have reason

verb

Etymology From have + reason, partly after Middle French avoir raison.

1

Obsolete To be right.

They would have no man use it as an interjection or exclamation, not to be alleaged as a witnesse or comparison, wherein I find they have reason.1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 56, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book I, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

2

To have grounds, justification etc. (to do something, or for something).

The finance minister had reason to be exasperated. Britain's economic future hinges on Europe, and this is no time for animus.2008 December 12, Martin Kettle, The Guardian:

Derived terms: have reason to believe

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.