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verb A1 Beginner Very common

had

had
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Had (verb) means past tense and past participle of have: to have owned, held, experienced or received something in the past. Example: “We had two cars until last summer.”

verb
1
Past tense and past participle of have: to have owned, held, experienced or received something in the past.
"We had two cars until last summer."
"She had a terrible cold all through the holidays."
"My grandparents had a small farm when I was a child."
2
informal In 'been had', to have been cheated, tricked or taken advantage of.
"Forty pounds for that? You've been had."
"Looking at the broken toy, he knew he had been had."
"Anyone who paid for those fake tickets has been had."
auxiliary verb
1
Used with a past participle to form the past perfect, describing something completed before another point in the past.
"By the time we arrived, the meeting had finished."
"He had never flown before that day."
"I realised I had left my wallet on the bus."

How to use had

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishThe past form of have — what you owned, got or experienced before now.

When to use it

Neutral. The contracted forms 'd (I'd, they'd) stand for had in the past perfect and for would elsewhere, so the following verb form settles which is meant.

Memory tip

'Had had' is correct and common: the first had is the auxiliary, the second the main verb — she had had enough by then.

Trace the full origin ↓
Easily confused with
had vs. have had vs. had had had to vs. must
Common pairings
had to had better had been had a go been had
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Fill the gap

Can you complete this real example?

We _____ two cars until last summer.

Etymology

This word came from Middle English hadde (preterite) and yhad (past participle), from Old English hæfde (first and third person singular preterite) and ġehæfd (past participle), from Proto-Germanic *habdaz, the past and past participle stem of *habjaną ("to have"); it is equivalent to have + -ed. It is cognate with Dutch had, German hatte, Swedish hade, and Icelandic hafði.

Origin: Middle English

Synonyms

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owned possessed held experienced conned swindled taken in duped

Related words

young held served owned experienced arrested trained admitted

Rhymes for had

Chad shad Thad
See all rhymes for had →

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between had and have?
Have is the present form, used for what is true now: I have a car. Had is the past form, used for what was true before and may no longer be: I had a car. As auxiliaries, have builds the present perfect (I have seen it) and had the past perfect (I had seen it).
When do you use had instead of have?
Use had for anything finished in the past, and specifically for the past perfect when one past event happened before another: the train had left before we reached the platform. If both events are in the present or reach up to now, use have.
What is the meaning of had?
"had" (verb) means past tense and past participle of have: to have owned, held, experienced or received something in the past.
What is another word for had?
Other words for "had" include owned, possessed, held, experienced, conned, swindled.

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young held served owned experienced arrested trained admitted