Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to have its moments

to have its moments

4 7.0
To be good sometimes even if not overall
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : tener sus momentos
  • This movie isn't perfect, but it definitely has its moments that will make you laugh.

I think there's where I've always been like, OK, everything has its moments.

Examples

Synonyms

to have one's moment
vsto have its moments
8 6.7

Show strong or good qualities for a short time

describes having some good parts despite overall mediocrity

Antonyms

mediocre
109 4.8

Only average in quality and not very good

lackluster
  • US
30 6.1

Dull and showing little energy

How Good

excellent
∞ 1.0
good
∞ 1.0
to have its moments
  • Informal
4 7.0
okay
∞ 1.0
poor
838 1.0

Surface Forms

have its moments infinitive
had its moments past
had its moments past participle
having its moments present participle
has its moments third person singular

Morphology

have + its + moment

The meaning is largely built from the parts: 'have' + 'moments' suggests that something occasionally experiences notable or good times, and many languages use a similar construction (e.g. 'tiene sus momentos'), so a learner who knows the words can often infer the basic idea. However, the conventional nuance—that these positive instances are occasional and do not imply overall excellence—and the fixed possessive pattern ('its moments') are somewhat idiomatic and may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner without exposure.

Etymology

Have its moments comes from the simple image of something mostly ordinary that briefly shows a bright part, like a long film that has a few great scenes. So it means 'to have some good or special parts even if the whole thing is not very impressive'.