own

adj, verb, noun — 19 senses

own

adj

UK /əʊn/ · US /oʊn/

Etymology

From Middle English aȝen, owen, from Old English āgen (“own, proper, peculiar”), originally the past participle of āgan; from Proto-West Germanic *aigan (“own”), from Proto-Germanic *aiganaz (“own”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyḱ- (“to have, possess”). Cognates Cognate with Scots ain, awin, awn, ayn (“own”), Saterland Frisian oain (“own”), West Frisian, Dutch, and German eigen (“own”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Swedish egen (“own”), Faroese egin (“own”), Icelandic eigin, eiginn (“own”), Norwegian Nynorsk eigen (“own”); also Ossetian исын (isyn, “to take”), Tocharian A and Tocharian B aik- (“to know, recognize”), Sanskrit ईश (īśa, “owning, possessing”). Originally past participle of the verb at hand in English owe.

1

Belonging to; possessed; acquired and designated by; proper to; property of; titled to; held in one's name; under/using the name of. Often marks a possessive determiner as reflexive, referring back to the subject of the clause or sentence.

  • The fathers shall not bee put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: euery man shall be put to death for his owne sinne.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Deuteronomy 24:16:
  • Prospero: Fairely ſpoke ; / Sit then, and talke with her, ſhe is thine owne ;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 IV, scene i], page 14:
3 more examples
  • I corralled the judge, and we started off across the fields, in no very mild state of fear of that gentleman's wife, whose vigilance was seldom relaxed. And thus we came by a circuitous route to Mohair, the judge occupied by his own guilty thoughts, and I by others not less disturbing.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
  • He looked round the poor room, at the distempered walls, and the bad engravings in meretricious frames, the crinkly paper and wax flowers on the chiffonier; and he thought of a room like Father Bryan's, with panelling, with cut glass, with tulips in silver pots, such a room as he had hoped to have for his own.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter X, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
  • The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about […], or offering services that let you[…] "share the things you love with the world" and so on. But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people's control of their own attention.2013 June 21, Oliver Burkeman, “The tao of tech”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 27:
2

Not shared.

  • When we move into the new house, the kids will each have their own bedroom.
3

Obsolete Peculiar, domestic.

4

Obsolete Not foreign.

Derived terms
193 termsabound in one's own sense, afraid of one's own shadow, after one's own heart, after one's own soul, a good deed is its own reward, a life of its own, a prophet has no honor in his own country, a prophet is not without honor save in his own country, at one's own peril, at one's own risk, attend to one's own knitting, beat someone at their own game, believe one's own eyes, be one's own man, be one's own worst enemy, bird of one's own brain, blow one's own horn, blow one's own trumpet, bring one's own hide to market, by one's own hand, carry one's own hide to market, carry one's own weight, catch someone at their own game, chase one's own tail, choose-your-own-adventure, choose your own adventure, come into one's own, comfortable in one's own skin, cut one's own throat, devil's own, dig one's own grave, don't shit in your own nest, do one's own thing, do one's own time, dose of one's own medicine, drink one's own Kool-Aid, each to his own, each to their own, eat one's own, eat one's own dog food, every man is the architect of his own fortune, every miller draws water to his own mill, feather one's own nest, for one's own good, for one's own hand, for one's own part, foul one's own nest, frolic of his own, get one's own back, get one's own way, God's own country, God's own county, go one's own way, have a mind of one's own, have it your own way, have one's own zip code, high on one's own supply, hoist by one's own petard, hoisted by one's own petard, hoisted on one's own petard, hoisted with one's own petard, hoist on one's own petard, hoist with one's own petard, hold one's own, in a league of one's own, in a world of one's own, in one's own backyard, in one's own good time, in one's own little way, in one's own little world, in one's own right, in one's own time, in one's own world, it is a wise child that knows his own father, it's an ill bird that fouls its own nest, jump at one's own shadow, keep one's own counsel, keep to one's own knitting, know one's own head, know one's own mind, leave someone to their own devices, leave to one's own devices, legend in one's own lifetime, legend in one's own lunchtime, legend in one's own mind, legend in one's own time, life of its own, lift oneself up by one's own bootstraps, lift oneself up by one's own boot-tags, lift oneself up by one's own waistbands, like the sound of one's own voice, live one's own life, make a stick for one's own back, make one's own, make one's own luck, march to one's own drum, march to one's own drummer, march to the beat of one's own drum, march to the beat of one's own drummer, mind one's own business, mind your own beeswax, mind-your-own-business, no one should be judge in his own cause, off one's own back, off one's own bat, of its own head, of its own study, of one's own, of one's own accord, of one's own making, one's own boss, one's own master, one's time is one's own, on one's own, on one's own account, on one's own bat, on one's own ground, on one's own hook, on one's own time, on someone's own dime, out of one's own pocket, own-account, own brand, own goal, own label, own motion, ownness, ownself, ownsome, ownwayish, paddle one's own canoe, pay back in someone's own coin, pay one's own freight, pay one's own way, pick on someone your own size, pick-your-own, play someone at their own game, plough one's own furrow, pull oneself up by one's own bootstraps, pull one's own weight, put on one's own oxygen mask first, put one's own oxygen mask on first, raise oneself up by one's own bootstraps, rent-to-own, rod for one's own back, rod for one's own breech, roll one's own, roll-your-own, scratch one's own itch, sell one's own grandmother, sign one's own death warrant, smell one's own farts, smoke one's own dope, stand in one's own light, stand on its own, stand on one's own bottom, stand on one's own two feet, stew in one's own broth, stew in one's own gravy, stew in one's own grease, stew in one's own juice, stew in one's own juices, stick to one's own knitting, take law into one's own hands, take matters into one's own hands, take oneself up by one's own ears, take one's own hide to market, take one's own life, take the law into one's own hands, take the matter into one's own hands, taste of one's own medicine, taste of one's own poison, tell its own story, tell its own tale, tend to one's own knitting, the devil looks after his own, think one is God's own cousin, to each his own, to each their own, to one's own cheek, toot one's own horn, to thine own self be true, trip over one's own two feet, under one's own steam, up one's own ass, victim of one's own success, Virtue is her own reward, virtue is its own reward, water finds its own level, water seeks its own level, with one's own eyes, write one's own ticket, you'll be late for your own funeral

own

verb

Etymology A back-formation from owner, owning and own (adjective). Compare Old English āgnian, Dutch eigenen, German eignen, Swedish ägna.

14 senses
  1. 1To have rightful possession of (property, goods or…
  2. 2To have recognized political sovereignty over a place…
  3. 3To defeat or embarrass; to overwhelm.
  4. 4To virtually or figuratively enslave.
  5. 5To defeat, dominate, or be above.
  6. 6To illicitly obtain administrative access to a computer…
  7. 7To be very good.
  8. 8To admit, concede, grant, allow; not to deny.
  9. 9To acknowledge.
  10. 10To proudly acknowledge; to not be ashamed or embarrassed of.
  11. 11To take responsibility for.
  12. 12To recognise.
  13. 13To claim as one's own.
  14. 14To confess.
1

To have rightful possession of (property, goods or capital); to have legal title to; to acquire a property or asset.

  • I own this car.
2

To have recognized political sovereignty over a place, territory, as distinct from the ordinary connotation of property ownership.

  • The United States owns Point Roberts by the terms of the Treaty of Oregon.
3

Informal To defeat or embarrass; to overwhelm.

  • I will own my enemies.
  • If he wins, he will own you.
1 more example
  • All the ‘Milo OWNS stupid feminist’ type of videos today are made with much the same style as the new atheist videos that were equally numerous on YouTube a few years before with titles like ‘HITCHSLAP. Hitchens OWNS stupid Christian woman’.2017, Angela Nagle, “Basic bitches, normies and the lamestream”, in Kill All Normies, Zero Books, →ISBN:
4

To virtually or figuratively enslave.

5

Games, Gaming Internet, Slang To defeat, dominate, or be above.

6

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences Slang To illicitly obtain administrative access to a computer system, thereby having full access to all the files thereon (including executables).

  • "TH15 5Y5T3M 15 0WN3D"1996 June 21, The Happiest Dragon Alive!!, “Re: An unusual situation”, in (Usenet), retrieved 24 Sep 2016, message-ID <4qe8pc$8ti@nerd.apk.net>:
7

Slang To be very good.

8

To admit, concede, grant, allow; not to deny.

  • I own thy speechless, placeless power; but to the last gasp of my earthquake life will dispute its unconditional, unintegral mastery in me.1851, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick:
  • 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.1895, Kenneth Graham, The Golden Age, London, page 6:
2 more examples
  • I am sorry to own I began to worry then.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:
  • 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.1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 5, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:
9

To acknowledge.

  • I must own that I have been at fault all this time.
  • Two of those fellows you must know and own.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)]:
1 more example
  • It must be owned, the good Jocelin, spite of his beautiful childlike character, is but an altogether imperfect 'mirror' of these old-world things!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):
10

To proudly acknowledge; to not be ashamed or embarrassed of.

  • "Well, I'm not hiding anymore! I'm owning my girly looks with cute short pink hair!"2014 April 17, Dan Shive, El Goonish Shive (webcomic), Comic for Thursday, Apr 17, 2014:
11

To take responsibility for.

  • 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.”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, archived from the original on 31 Oct 2025:
12

To recognise.

  • I own him as a son of my own.
13

To claim as one's own.

14

UK, Dialectal To confess.

Synonyms
to possess, acquire, have to one's name, property of, title to, beat, defeat, overcome, overthrow, vanquish, have, take, best
Antonyms
disown
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

own

noun

Etymology A back-formation from owner, owning and own (adjective). Compare Old English āgnian, Dutch eigenen, German eignen, Swedish ägna.

1

Internet A crushing insult.

  • the amount of bigots that just screenshot my profile thinking it's the biggest own is insane.2023 June 10, @__Happyface, Twitter:
Derived terms
self-own

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

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