From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishownown1 /əʊn $ oʊn/ ●●● S1 W1 adjective, pronoun [always after a possessive] 1 OWNused to emphasize that something belongs to or is connected with a particular person or thing and not any other Bring your own equipment. Every dance has its own rhythm. The yacht was intended for the King’s own personal use. His face was only a few inches from her own.of your own We have problems of our own. I’d like to have a place of my own (=my own home).your very own (=used to add more emphasis) One day I want to have a horse of my very own.something to call your own/which you can call your own (=something that belongs to you) She just wanted a place to call her own.2 INDEPENDENT PERSONHELPused to emphasize that someone did or made something without the help or involvement of anyone else She makes a lot of her own clothes. We encourage students to develop their own ideas. It’s your own fault for leaving the window open.3 → (all) on your own4 → for your own good/safety/benefit etc5 → too nice/clever etc for your own good6 → get your own back (on somebody)7 → be your own man/woman8 → make something your own → come into your own at come1(6), → hold your own at hold1(24)Grammar• You say my own, her own, their own etc: They miss their own country.The town has its own station. ✗Don’t say: They miss the own country. | The town has an own station. • You can also say of my own, of her own, of their own etc: I want to have a room of my own.Each house has a garden of its own.
Examples from the Corpus
of your own• Our neighbours let us use their garage, but we really need one of our own.• Yet on this tax cut issue Dole has little credibility of his own.• The charity provides accommodation for homeless people, and helps them find homes of their own.• But once set in motion, the enormous machinery of a traditional wedding had a life of its own.• One is killed, or lives as a cringing inferior who may never have cubs of her own.• He has three young daughters of his own, and loses no time in stamping his authority on the entire brood.• How does a bat keep track of its own echoes, and avoid being misled by the echoes of others?• They've got ideas of their own, go their own way.• She could use this capital to dictate the form of reconstruction and to extend the areas of her own influence.• The couple said they spent more than $ 2,000 of their own money to build a new home.own fault• Anyway, I was brought up to believe that whatever happens to people is their own fault.• But he knew that people thought otherwise, and that their false impression was his own fault.• He had misjudged the situation, and if he had added to his problems, it was his own fault.• The impression we got was that they thought it was pretty much his own fault.• These were groups in need of institutional care and whose need could not always be attributed to their own fault.• My customer did not like his loss, but it was just as much his own fault as mine.• And I know he's nasty to Auntie Lou sometimes but it's her own fault because she lets him be.• You could not mistake the absolute assumption that this mess was not only their own fault but something to be ashamed of.ownown2 ●●● S2 W2 verb [transitive] 1 OWNto have something which belongs to you, especially because you have bought it, been given it etc and it is legally yours → possess The building is owned by the local council. You need to get permission from the farmer who owns the land. Many more people now own their own homes. the cost of owning a carpublicly/privately owned British English (=belonging to the government or a private organization) a privately owned company2 → as if/as though/like you own the place3 old-fashionedTRUE to admit that something is trueown (that) I own that I judged her harshly at first.own to I must own to a feeling of anxiety.4 informal to defeat someone very easily or by a large amount Our team totally owned them!GRAMMAR: Using the progressiveOwn is not used in the progressive. You say: They own several cars. ✗Don’t say: They are owning several cars.THESAURUSown if you own something, it legally belongs to youThey live in a flat but they don’t own it.The land is owned by farmers.a privately owned planehave [not in passive] to own something – used when focussing on the fact that someone has the use of something, rather than the fact that they legally own itHow many students have a cell phone?I wish I had a sports car.possess [not in passive] formal to own somethingIt is illegal to possess a firearm in Britain.I don’t even possess a smart suit!belong to somebody/something [not in passive] if something belongs to you, you own itThe ring belonged to my grandmother.hold to own shares in a companyOne man holds a third of the company’s shares.be the property of somebody/something formal to be owned by someone – written on signs, labels etcThis camera is the property of the BBC. → own up→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
own• I don't even own a car.• We don't own a picnic hamper.• They own a small electronics company.• Andy and his wife own a vacation home near the beach.• Clark owns about 40 companies in northern Europe.• It is an actual spacecraft from the Soviet space shuttle program, owned and operated by former cosmonauts and space program employees.• The horse is owned by a Saudi businessman.• Tasika Angus, owned by D. Judah.• She was owned by Peter Phillips.• The company was previously owned by the French government.• American newspapers in different cities are often owned by the same company.• They stayed in a villa once owned by the writer, Somerset Maugham.• The property was purchased for investment purposes, and is still owned only because of the current property slump. 3.• We don't own the apartment, we're just renting it.• In fact, it was the ogre who owned the land that the king had just driven through.• In National Parks, although the land is privately owned, there are strict controls on the use of the land.• Also, my uncle owns this ship!publicly/privately owned• Fujisankei, itself privately owned and independent, seems the ideal partner.• Because fraternities are privately owned and run, they are for the most part beyond the jurisdiction of academic institutions.• The dead stock was usually sold in one or other of the privately owned auction marts.• His name would be linked for ever with the principle of publicly owned hydroelectric power in Ontario.• Though privately owned, it is open to the public for bird watching.• The privately owned land is a steep, rugged parcel of 171 acres near Highway 92.• This is not entirely the result of political control, since the privately owned press shows no greater inclination towards investigative journalism.• The 27-mile autoroute, intended to relieve congestion on the M6, is the first of several proposed privately owned toll roads.own (that)• No one can pretend that his stooping, kneeling, and digging figures are beautiful, either by contemporary standards or our own.• A mutual fund is a portfolio of stocks or bonds that is jointly owned by a large number of investors.• State governments developed extensive programs to help the elderly stay in their own homes rather than go into nursing homes.• Besides, his own party's do-or-die tendency will now be vigilant against any hint of gradualism.• Nor is it self evident that the profession could reasonably be expected to fund such a massive activity out of its own pocket.• And Sethe would oblige her with anything from fabric to her own tongue.• She was sharp, Mrs Wright, in her own way.From Longman Business Dictionaryownown /əʊnoʊn/ verb [transitive] to have or possess something that is legally yoursHe still owns shares in the company.The company is owned by a foreign consortium.→ See Verb tableOrigin own2 Old English agnian, from agen “own” 