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own

own

1.0
Belonging to a particular person and not to anyone else
  • adjective
  • /oʊn/
translation icon : propio
  • I try to think about it in my own small way.
  • create your own
  • your own interests
  • your own identity

Clearly my body had its own, you know, mind.

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Examples

  • Many staff, particularly home care workers, use their own vehicles to travel to clients.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Allowing students to work at their own pace provided them autonomy for their progress.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Try, try to create your own, your own style.

  • And I say this for your own good.

  • Students with low confidence in their own musical ability are less likely to value music.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Sophia is into creating her own dance videos.

  • I've always felt like a stranger in my own family.

  • To begin the evening, we have our very own Reverend Barnard Hood.

  • Bloomberg was, at times, rescued from his own destructive policies by events beyond his control.

    Academic text (2011)
  • You can take pride in your own achievements, knowing they are truly yours.

Synonyms

ain
vsown
  • UK
9.9

Belonging to the person just mentioned, often used after words like my or his

is the standard English form used after a possessive without regional label

Idioms

51 3.7

Stay out of other people's private matters and focus on your own

35 5.8

Tell someone not to ask about or get involved in other people's lives

To be important or good without help from someone else

to own the place
  • Informal
20 7.9

Act as if you control the place

A person who causes problems for themselves that stop them from doing well

12 4.2

Able to live and support yourself without help from others

Pay for something with your own money instead of getting money from someone else

To think for yourself and make your own decisions

To begin to use your skills and get recognition

7 7.5

To talk proudly about things you have done

To make your own decisions without other people telling you what to do

Having value or status on its own, not because of someone else

Feeling calm and confident about who you are

5 7.0

Something I like a lot and agree with

To support yourself without help from other people

5 7.7

To be able to choose your own job or future because you are successful

Challenge someone of similar size or strength instead of someone weaker

To defeat someone by using their own methods

To feel comfortable and confident with who you are

3 7.1

To do something that makes you fail

To be sure about what you want and act on it

Much better than others in skill or quality

To be independent and take care of yourself without help

Done personally by the person who made or wrote it

Very easily frightened and nervous, often jumping at small noises

Alone without help or someone watching, a person must take care of themselves

To feel too proud of your own work or ideas and ignore other people's advice

To stumble or fall because you are clumsy

Using your own effort without help from others

to eat their own
  • Literature
1 9.5

To turn against people in your own group

To talk proudly about your own abilities or achievements

Very likely to arrive after the expected time because they are often not on time

Can act without supervision and decide what to do

To enjoy hearing yourself talk because you feel important

1 6.8

At a time you choose without being hurried by others

1 9.3

A situation that keeps a person trapped by their own choices

Use a company's own products to show they work and learn from them

A person who is very famous and admired while still alive

Much better than other people at something

to own the road
  • Informal
1 8.6

Drive in a confident, aggressive way that ignores other drivers

To perform confidently on stage and keep the audience's attention

To be ready to face problems and manage alone

According to what someone thinks is right

Serve a prison sentence without involving other people

A person who thinks they are very important but only a few people know them

To enjoy hearing yourself speak while not listening to others

Do something that causes trouble for yourself later

A difficult situation you cause by your own choices or actions

To become larger and hard to control as it spreads beyond where it started

God's own cousin
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who behaves as if they are better than everyone else

9.9

A plan you make to hurt other people harms you

5.0

Do as well as others in a difficult situation

Compounds

19 7.0

Being so focused on private thoughts or feelings that you do not notice people nearby

15 4.9

The activity a person is very good at

1 3.7

Accidentally put the ball into your own team's net, giving the other team a point

Boy's Own tale
  • Archaic
9.9

An exciting old-fashioned adventure story with brave heroes and daring acts

Boy's Own
  • Archaic
9.9

Adventurous and exciting like old adventure stories for boys

Surface Forms

own positive

Etymology

The word own comes from an old word meaning 'to have' or 'possessed' and is related to owner, someone who has something. So own after a possessive shows that something belongs to that person and not to anyone else.