Meaning of possession In English

• 0 the fact that you have or own something:

  • The possession of large amounts of money does not ensure happiness.

  • formal I have in my possession a letter which may be of interest to you.

  • formal He was found in possession of explosives.

  • Please remember to take all your personal possessions with you when you leave the aircraft.

  • a former overseas possession

  • Wolves had a lot of possession but failed to score.

  • We need to keep possession of the ball to give ourselves a chance.

  • We've already bought the house but we won't take possession of it until May.

• 1 something that you own, or the condition of owning something:

  • [ U ] She couldn’t take possession of the house until the current occupants moved out.

  • [ C ] Meanwhile, all her possessions were in storage.

  • He was in possession of two tickets to the concert.

• 2 the situation in which someone has or owns something:

  • in sb's possession No steps may be taken to repossess goods in the company's possession except with the leave of the court.

  • have possession of sth The Court of Appeal admitted that Ms Mountford did have exclusive possession of the property.

  • in possession of sth The ruling did not establish that he was in possession of the disputed land.

• 3 something that someone owns or has with them at a particular time:

  • The value of his possessions came to about $1 million.

  • material/personal possessions

• 4 to start to use and control goods, a building, or a piece of land, whether you own them or not:

  • Was the bank entitled to take possession of his property and exercise its power of sale without an order of the court?

  • The court appointed a receiver to take possession of the assets of the company.

  • He is wanted by police on charges of possession of illegal firearms.