possession

/pəˈzɛʃən/

/pəˈzɛʃən/

Other forms: possessions

A possession is something that belongs to you. If you've got a special rubber ducky, that’s one of your possessions, and it may even be your prized possession.

Possession is all about control: if you have possession of something, you own it, or have your hands on it. If your house keys are in your possession, you know where they are. In soccer being in possession means having control of the ball; in hockey, it’s having your stick on the puck. A possession can also be a territory controlled by another government, as Puerto Rico is a possession of the United States.

Definitions of possession

1. noun

   anything owned or possessed
   types:

   belongings, holding, property

   something owned; any tangible or intangible possession that is owned by someone

   white elephant

   a valuable possession whose upkeep is excessively expensive

   transferred possession, transferred property

   a possession whose ownership changes or lapses

   circumstances

   a person's financial situation (good or bad)

   assets

   anything of material value or usefulness that is owned by a person or company

   treasure

   any possession that is highly valued by its owner

   liabilities

   anything that is owed to someone else

   material possession, tangible possession

   property or belongings that are tangible

   worldly belongings, worldly goods, worldly possessions

   all the property that someone possess

   ratables, rateables

   property that provides tax income for local governments

   hereditament

   any property (real or personal or mixed) that can be inherited

   intellectual property

   intangible property that is the result of creativity (such as patents or trademarks or copyrights)

   community property

   property and income belonging jointly to a married couple

   personal estate, personal property, personalty, private property

   movable property (as distinguished from real estate)

   things

   any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)

   immovable, real estate, real property, realty

   property consisting of houses and land

   commonage

   property held in common

   landholding

   a holding in the form of land

   salvage

   property or goods saved from damage or destruction

   shareholding

   a holding in the form of shares of corporations

   church property, spirituality, spiritualty

   property or income owned by a church

   lease, letting, rental

   property that is leased or rented out or let

   trade-in

   an item of property that is given in part payment for a new one

   public property

   property owned by a government

   wealth

   property that has economic utility: a monetary value or an exchange value

   estate

   everything you own; all of your assets (whether real property or personal property) and liabilities

   acquisition

   something acquired

   assignment, grant

   (law) a transfer of property by deed of conveyance

   escheat

   the property that reverts to the state

   stolen property

   property that has been stolen

   heritage, inheritance

   that which is inherited; a title or property or estate that passes by law to the heir on the death of the owner

   heirloom

   (law) any property that is considered by law or custom as inseparable from an inheritance is inherited with that inheritance

   expenditure, expense, outgo, outlay, spending

   money paid out; an amount spent

   part, percentage, portion, share

   assets belonging to or due to or contributed by an individual person or group

   tax base

   collective value of taxable assets

   tax liability

   the amount of tax owed; calculated by applying the tax rate to the tax base

   loss

   something that is lost

   payables

   money that you currently expect to pay on notes and accounts

   receivables

   money that you currently expect to receive from notes or accounts

   crown jewel

   the most desirable assets of a corporation

   deep pocket

   a source of substantial wealth (usually plural)

   reserve assets

   capital held back from investment in order to meet probable or possible demands

   amount, amount of money, sum, sum of money

   a quantity of money

   resource

   available source of wealth; a new or reserve supply that can be drawn upon when needed

   intangible, intangible asset

   assets that are saleable though not material or physical

   current assets, liquid assets, quick assets

   assets in the form of cash (or easily convertible into cash)

   investment, investment funds

   money that is invested with an expectation of profit

   equity

   the difference between the market value of a property and the claims held against it

   stockholding, stockholdings

   a specific number of stocks or shares owned

   protection, security

   defense against financial failure; financial independence

   security, surety

   property that your creditor can claim in case you default on your obligation

   material resource

   assets in the form of material possessions

   capital

   wealth in the form of money or property owned by a person or business and human resources of economic value

   capital, working capital

   assets available for use in the production of further assets

   cash in hand, finances, funds, monetary resource, pecuniary resource

   assets in the form of money

   trust

   something (as property) held by one party (the trustee) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary)

   hole card

   any assets that are concealed until they can be used advantageously

   credit

   money available for a client to borrow

   overage

   a surplus or excess of money or merchandise that is actually on hand and that exceeds expectations

   deficit

   an excess of liabilities over assets (usually over a certain period)

   debt

   money or goods or services owed by one person to another

   charge

   financial liabilities (such as a tax)

   accounts receivable

   a creditor's accounts of money owed to him; normally arise from the sale of products or services

   accounts payable

   a debtor's accounts of money he owes; normally arise from the purchase of products or services

   asset

   a valuable item that someone owns

   type of:

   relation

   an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together
2. noun

   a territory that is controlled by a ruling state
   examples:

   Macao

   a former Portuguese province on the south coast of China and two islands in the South China Sea; reverted to China in 1999

   British Virgin Islands

   more than 40 northeastern Virgin Islands (15 inhabited); a dependent territory of the United Kingdom

   United States Virgin Islands

   more than 130 southeastern Virgin Islands; a dependent territory of the United States

   Gilbert and Ellice Islands

   a former British possession in Micronesia

   Faeroe Islands

   a self-governing colony that is a possession of Denmark in the Faroe Islands

   French Polynesia

   a French overseas possession in the South Pacific

   type of:

   district, dominion, territorial dominion, territory

   a region marked off for administrative or other purposes
3. noun

   the act of having and controlling property
   synonyms: ownership

   types:

   actual possession

   (law) immediate and direct physical control over property

   constructive possession

   (law) having the power and intention to have and control property but without direct control or actual presence upon it

   criminal possession

   (law) possession for which criminal sanctions are provided because the property may not lawfully be possessed or may not be possessed under certain circumstances

   holding, keeping, retention

   the act of retaining something

   illegal possession

   possession of controlled substances

   withholding

   the act of holding back or keeping within your possession or control

   storage

   the act of storing something

   type of:

   control

   the activity of managing or exerting control over something
4. noun

   (sports) the act of controlling the ball (or puck)
   “they took possession of the ball on their own goal line”

   type of:

   control

   the activity of managing or exerting control over something
5. noun

   the trait of resolutely controlling your own behavior
   synonyms: self-command, self-control, self-possession, self-will, will power, willpower

   types:

   nerves

   control of your emotions

   presence of mind

   self-control in a crisis; ability to say or do the right thing in an emergency

   type of:

   firmness, firmness of purpose, resoluteness, resolution, resolve

   the trait of being resolute
6. noun

   being controlled by passion or the supernatural
   type of:

   enchantment, spell, trance

   a psychological state induced by (or as if induced by) a magical incantation
7. noun

   a mania restricted to one thing or idea
   synonyms: monomania

   type of:

   cacoethes, mania, passion

   an irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action