Own in a sentence

Own Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

1 of 3

ˈōn 

1

: belonging to oneself or itself

—usually used following a possessive case or possessive adjective

cooked my own dinnerwas responsible for his own bad luck

2

—used to express immediate or direct kinship

an own sonan own sistermy own family

own

2 of 3

transitive verb

1

a

: to have or hold as property : possess

b

: to have power or mastery over

wanted to own his own life

2

: to acknowledge to be true, valid, or as claimed : admit

own a debt

intransitive verb

: to acknowledge something to be true, valid, or as claimed

—used with to or up

own

3 of 3

: one or ones belonging to oneself

—used after a possessive and without a following noun

gave out books so that each of us had our owna room of your own

Phrases

on one's own

1

: for or by oneself : independently of assistance or control

made the decision on his own

2

: left to rely entirely on one's own resources

if you mess up, you're on your own

Synonyms

Verb

• command
• enjoy
• have
• hold
• possess
• retain

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 

Example Sentences

Verb We hope to someday own our own home. She drives a red truck that was originally owned by her grandfather. He owns the rights to the band's music. The couple owns and operates the business. After everyone else denied any responsibility, he owned that he was at fault.

Recent Examples on the Web

Clear has a great example of a negative eating habit from his own life. —Saira Mueller, WIRED, 1 Jan. 2023 Often, but not always, I’ll be sent a sample or have a chance to try it at a tasting, but opinions are always my own. —Felipe Schrieberg, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2022 For all her skill in getting other people to open up, Walters was extremely protective of her own private life. —Gwen Ihnat, EW.com, 31 Dec. 2022 Among Champagne cocktails, the Old Cuban is in a class all its own. —Jason O'bryan, Robb Report, 30 Dec. 2022 Williams pairs each picture with a quotation about trees, derived from many sources, but the show’s vision is all her own. —Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 30 Dec. 2022 Lily Collins, who plays the Netflix dramedy’s title role, first cut some fringe into her hair in her own life before the look made its way into the show. —Selome Hailu, Variety, 30 Dec. 2022 When a 38-year-old man anguished over the protests in Iran took his own life in the French city of Lyon, fellow members of the Iranian diaspora felt his pain. —Arno Pedram, ajc, 30 Dec. 2022 The Mercer County Prosecutor's Office revealed Wednesday that the 20-year-old junior took her own life by ingesting a fatal dose of bupropion, escitalopram and hydroxyzine. —Rebecca Rosenberg, Fox News, 29 Dec. 2022

Hudson is spending the holidays in Aspen, Colorado, an annual tradition of her family as her mother Goldie Hawn, 77, and Hawn's partner Kurt Russell, 71, own a house there. —Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 2 Jan. 2023 The Trojans have won every 6A girls title since 2018 and now own a 76-game win streak entering this weekend. —Ben Thomas | [email protected], al, 30 Dec. 2022 Indigenous lands cover about a quarter of the world’s surface, but Indigenous communities who have protected these lands for centuries legally own just one-fifth. —Nina Karnikowski, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Dec. 2022 Even his customers wanted to participate and own a piece of the company, which expanded his confidence. —Yolanda Baruch, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2022 The Chargers have played seven consecutive one-score finishes and, for the season, own just one victory by a margin greater than six points. —Jeff Miller, Los Angeles Times, 26 Dec. 2022 Violent Night is now available to rent or own digitally and on Blu-Ray. —Maren Estrada, BGR, 25 Dec. 2022 Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate San Jose State and Eastern Michigan own nearly identical records. —Steve Kroner, San Francisco Chronicle, 19 Dec. 2022 The Washington Commanders and New York Giants are both 7-5-1 and own the sixth and seventh spots in the NFC. —Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, 18 Dec. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'own. ' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective, Verb, and Pronoun

Middle English owen, from Old English āgen; akin to Old High German eigan own, Old Norse eiginn, Old English āgan to possess — more at owe

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Pronoun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of own was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century

Dictionary Entries Near

owly

own

own-brand

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

Style

MLAChicagoAPAMerriam-Webster

“Own. ” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/own. Accessed 10 Jan. 2023.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

own

1 of 3 adjective

ˈōn 

: belonging to oneself or itself

my own room

own

2 of 3 verb

1

a

: to have or hold as property : possess

b

: to have power or control over

wanted to own her own life

2

: to admit that something is true : confess

owned to being scared

if you broke the window, own up

owner

ˈō-nər 

noun

ownership

-ˌship

noun

own

3 of 3 pronoun singular or plural

: one or ones belonging to oneself

—used after a possessive

dog of his own

Legal Definition

own

transitive verb

: to have or hold as property

especially : to have title to

own property

More from Merriam-Webster on

Nglish: Translation of own for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of own for Arabic Speakers

Last Updated: 3 Jan 2023 - Updated example sentences

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Merriam-Webster unabridged

Sentence Patterns – The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

What this handout is about

This handout gives an overview of English sentence patterns. It will help you identify subjects, verbs, and clause connectors so you can analyze your writing style and improve it by using a variety of sentence patterns.
Click here for a one page summary of the English sentence patterns discussed on this handout.

Subjects, Verbs, and Clauses

In its simplest form, an English sentence has two parts: a subject and a verb that express a complete thought when they are together.

• The subject shows who or what is doing the action. It is always some form of noun or pronoun.
• The verb shows the action or the state of being. It can be an action verb, like “run,” or a state verb, like “seem.”

Examples of simple two word sentences include:

Marvin slept.

Dogs bark.

Isotopes react.

Real sentences are rarely so short. We usually want to convey much more information, so we modify the main subject and verb with other words and phrases, as in the sentences below:

Unfortunately, Marvin slept fitfully.

Dogs bark louder after midnight.

Heavy isotopes react more slowly than light isotopes of the same element.

Despite the extra information, each of these sentences has one subject and one verb, so it’s still just one clause. What’s a clause?

A clause is the combination of a subject and a verb. When you have a subject and verb, you have a clause. Pretty easy, isn’t it? We’re going to concentrate on clauses in this handout, with emphasis on these two in particular:

1. Independent clause: a subject and verb that make a complete thought. Independent clauses are called independent because they can stand on their own and make sense.
2. Dependent clause: a subject and verb that don’t make a complete thought. Dependent clauses always need to be attached to an independent clause (they’re too weak to stand alone).

We’ll talk more about dependent clauses later on, but also see our handout on fragments for a more detailed description of these types of clauses.

Something tricky

Before we move on to the sentence types, you should know a little trick of subjects and verbs: they can double up in the same clause. These are called “compound” subjects or verbs because there are two or more of them in the same clause.

Compound subject (two subjects related to the same verb):

Javier and his colleagues collaborated on the research article.

Compound verb (two verbs related to the same subject):

Javier conducted the experiment and documented the results.

Compound subject with compound verb:

Javier, his colleagues, and their advisor drafted and revised the article several times.

Notice that they don’t overlap. You can tell that it’s only one clause because all of the subjects in one clause come before all of the verbs in the same clause.

Four Basic Patterns

Every sentence pattern below describes a different way to combine clauses. When you are drafting your own papers or when you’re revising them for sentence variety, try to determine how many of these patterns you use. If you favor one particular pattern, your writing might be kind of boring if every sentence has exactly the same pattern. If you find this is true, try to revise a few sentences using a different pattern.

NOTE: Because nouns can fill so many positions in a sentence, it’s easier to analyze sentence patterns if you find the verbs and find the connectors. The most common connectors are listed below with the sentence patterns that use them.

In the descriptions below, S=Subject and V=Verb, and options for arranging the clauses in each sentence pattern given in parentheses. Connecting words and the associated punctuation are highlighted in brown. Notice how the punctuation changes with each arrangement.

Pattern 1: Simple Sentence

One independent clause (SV.)

Mr. Potato Head eats monkeys.

I refuse.

Try this: Look for sentences in your own text that have only one clause. Mark them with a certain color so they stand out.

Pattern 2: Compound Sentence

Two or more independent clauses. They can be arranged in these ways: (SV, and SV.) or (SV; however, SV.)

Connectors with a comma, the FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (See our handout on commas for more info.)

Connectors with a semicolon and comma: however, moreover, nevertheless, nonetheless, therefore

Example compound sentences:

Mr. Potato Head eats them for breakfast every day, but I don’t see the attraction.

Eating them makes him happy; however, he can’t persuade me.

Try this:

• Scan your own text to find the compound connectors listed above. Circle them.
• Find the verb and the subject of the clauses on both sides of the connectors.
• Highlight your compound sentences with a color that’s different from the one you used to mark your simple sentences.

Pattern 3: Complex Sentence

One independent clause PLUS one or more dependent clauses. They can be arranged in these ways: (SV because SV.) or (Because SV, SV.) or (S, because SV, V.)

Connectors are always at the beginning of the dependent clause. They show how the dependent clause is related to the independent clause. This list shows different types of relationships along with the connectors that indicate those relationships:

• Cause/Effect: because, since, so that
• Comparison/Contrast: although, even though, though, whereas, while
• Place/Manner: where, wherever, how, however
• Possibility/Conditions: if, whether, unless
• Relation: that, which, who, whom
• Time: after, as, before, since, when, whenever, while, until

Examples of complex sentences:

He recommends them highly because they taste like chicken when they are hot.

Although chicken always appeals to me, I still feel skeptical about monkey.

Mrs. Potato Head, because she loves us so much, has offered to make her special monkey souffle for us.

She can cook it however she wants.

Although I am curious, I am still skeptical.

Try this:

• Scan your own text to find the complex connectors listed above. Circle them.
• Find the verb and the subject of the clauses that goes with each connector, remembering that the dependent clause might be in between the subject and verb of the independent clause, as shown in the arrangement options above.
• Highlight your complex sentences with a color that’s different from the one you used to mark your simple sentences.

Pattern 4: Compound-Complex Sentence

Two or more independent clauses PLUS one or more dependent clauses. They can be arranged in these ways: (SV, and SV because SV.) or (Because SV, SV, but SV.)

Connectors: Connectors listed under Patterns 2 & 3 are used here. Find the connectors, then find the verbs and subjects that are part of each clause.

Mr. Potato Head said that he would share the secret recipe; however, if he does, Mrs. Potato Head will feed him to the piranhas, so we are both safer and happier if I don’t eat monkeys or steal recipes.

Try this: Use a fourth color to highlight the compound-complex sentences in your text (the ones with at least two independent and at least one dependent clauses).

Look at the balance of the four different colors. Do you see one color standing out? Do you notice one missing entirely? If so, examine your text carefully while you ask these questions:

• Could you separate some of the more complex sentences?
• Could you combine some of the shorter sentences?
• Can you use different arrangement options for each of the sentence patterns?
• Can you use different connectors if you change the order of the clauses?

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 License.
You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Sentences with the word "own"

We found 80 sentences with the word "own". Synonyms for own. Meaning of the word. Characters. "own" - morphemic analysis. The meaning of the word own.

• Own own Congress is declared the only legal representation of Ukraine.
• In the same year, the family of the court factor Oppenheim spent on books their own capital of one million French francs. nine0008
• I don't believe in anything that I don't see with my own eyes and the existence of which doesn't confirm my own experience.
• Meanwhile, having returned from Kuibyshev to Moscow, Vysotsky got to his own creative evening at the WTO, which took place on May 31st.
• Everyone had their own recipe, and so did I.
• This work was so successful that the university published it at its own expense.
• Meanwhile there are 9 in the archive0006 Rasputin's own story about this period.
• He will not take any of these paths leading to safety, but will look for the third one, his own .
• Gumilyov had his own "bathroom" office.
• He called him none other than Shushka, until the time when Herzen got his own own little Shushka.
• Only boundless faith in his own mind, only exorbitant conceit could inspire him with the idea of ​​cerebral hygiene. nine0008
• But then he was betrayed by his own leading question.
• Finally, replenish own pocket , otherwise why would he return to power?
• The fact is that he then created his own mime theater, which from the very first days began to declare itself as pro-liberal.
• Each prince fearlessly and bravely at the head of his retinue defended his own destiny and died in unequal battles.
• Now he will never grow older, and he will no longer face the fate of a snake that survived own poison.
• Marche has found his own unique landscape style.
• Our own blacksmith stayed far behind to fix a field kitchen that had a broken rear axle.
• Her own earnings gave her that confidence in life that Alexander himself valued in himself.
• He studied, but did not borrow, did not imitate, but brought his own orderly order into everything acquired. nine0008
• He was always primarily a practitioner, and his own experience said that his life at the moment is simply necessary for the mafia.
• This is evidenced, among other things, by his own story in the Divine Comedy about how he saved the life of a child.
• It's not difficult for me to maintain my own rhythm, but it's almost impossible for me to adjust to the rhythm of other people's voices or instruments.
• The Grand Duke had just turned ten years old, and shortly before that, his own debut in the ballet Acis and Galatea.
• The sad experience of his father and his own made Ivan III anxiously think about the idea of ​​such power.
• Looking back, they saw their own ship sinking into the abyss.
• At the end of the lessons, if the children behaved appropriately, she would sing songs to them to her own accompaniment.
• From the first day I began to make the necessary inquiries, but so far nothing, on my own glance, worth mentioning did not recognize.
• He is so immersed in his own inner world that he stops paying attention to his surroundings.
• I have walked my own path, and now it is easier for me to understand my father.
• Emin, who published in the same year his own magazine "Hell Post".
• Each person has his own taste , and it's good that someone likes it.
• Meanwhile, having returned from Kuibyshev to Moscow, Vysotsky hit own creative evening at the WTO, which took place on May 31st.
• The colony had its own drama club, and Petr pretty soon became the most active participant in it.
• Additional confidence that I would not disappear behind the fence of the Armed Forces was given by my own stone in my bosom, a personal trump card.
• My own combat post was in the Anton gun turret, forward on the forecastle.
• Santa Claus does not exist?”, she answered: “There is no Santa Claus and God too, only own spirit can help you.”
• Only now it was no longer a student theatre, but its own own .
• When creating their own code language, the traders took into account both of the above considerations.
• The Czechs refused to surrender their weapons and under their own echelons took control of the entire highway from Samara to Vladivostok.
• https://sinonim.org/
• He seemed to be delicately trying to open his eyes to their own theater, undermine faith in its uniqueness.
• Besides, I have always preferred mackerel to flounder, and hake biting its own tail has always seemed to me the height of perfection.
• In the foreground he painted bare olive trunks with broken branches, a small white stone and his own sleeping profile.
• And only 3% of people start their own business in the first five years after graduation.
• Stalin's own son proved by his example that this is a lie.
• Arriving in Moscow in the winter, Iza was waiting for an invitation from the Pushkin Theatre, where her own husband proposed to her.
• In Voronezh, Nikitin had his own wax candle factory, a house and a shop in a bustling trading place.
• As if she was rushing her own departure.
• I then thought: everyone probably has their own own god.
• You have your own style, like, for example, Wagner Love or Kerzhakov.
• And in 1921, Tamara decided to create her own theater right in the courtyard of her house.
• Nevertheless, Lautrec had his own view of everything.
• He only believed that this was the truth, and that his own mind would help him understand it.
• My friend, test pilot Amet-Khan Sultan, as twice Hero of the Soviet Union, had 9 in his homeland0006 own bust.
• With the birth of Gaudí's architectural creations, Barcelona has found its own , a unique style.
• But no less important role in the formation of this character was played by the school and his own experience.
• I showed almost no interest in other children, preferring their company to my own inner world.
• Recalling my own experience , I did not find pity in myself and caught the bomber's left engine in the crosshairs of my sight. nine0008
• I also looked into our own house, saw window frames, curtains and my mother standing at one of the windows.
• In connection with the move to a new own house in Tsarskoye Selo.
• From the sovereign's Alexander Palace, he moved to his own in St. Petersburg and asked me to help him settle down.
• They also didn't let the musicians of "Obelisk", who came to their own concert.
• We built our own house where I spent my childhood and youth.
• Each of them received his own experience and made up his own impressions of military life.
• In 2004 Belyaeva got her own website on the Internet, which can be accessed by anyone.
• As a physicist, Kaminsky invented his own device to prove the Boyle-Mariotte law regarding the elasticity of gases.
• He developed his own unique style, which he himself called "sharp as a knife."
• Kazgan thanked the young barlas by giving him his own bow case.
• It gave the impression that it had taken its own move.
• If earlier he was guided only by his own taste, now he suppressed it, restrained his impulses.
• True, with the relocation to Gori, Vissarion is unlikely to have retained his own vineyard. nine0008
• But Aleinikov did not wait for someone's blessing and created his own drama circle.
• Solovki also had its own NEP, reflecting every variation of life on the Soviet continent.
• Here he had to give his first own concert.
• Would you, being co-crucified with Christ in Holy Baptism, want Him to bear with you your own cross?
• And he and Kartsev rushed to conquer the pop Olympus, creating their own own Theater of miniatures.
• And in 1921, Tamara decided to create her own theater right in the courtyard of the house.
• On the contrary, wherever your own life experience allows, you try to stay close to what you saw in the war with your own eyes.
• His own experience taught him the accuracy of thought, and wildlife expanded and generalized them.
• And again, each of the five brothers received their own baron diploma. nine0008