1. To have as property; to own: The elderly Mrs. Smith does not possess a cell phone and only uses her landline.
2. To have as a quality, characteristic, or other attribute: Shirley possessed great tact and politeness.
3. To acquire mastery of or have knowledge of: Harry possessed valuable data that his employer was looking for.
4. To gain or exert influence or control over; to dominate: Jim thought he possessed his wife, but he was wrong because she divorced him within a year of marriage.
5. To cause to own, hold, or master something; Mr. Black possessed the property, but he was not the owner of it.

Professor Hathaway possessed a great amount of knowledge in the field of astronomy. .
6. To cause to be influenced or controlled: The idea of going on a trip to California to see his relatives possessed Sam so much that he decided to go there in the summer.

His agitated emotions towards his father totally possessed him.
7. Etymology: from Middle English possessen; from Old French possessier, from Latin possessus, past participle of possidere, "to possess"; which stands for pots, "mighty, powerful" + sidere, literally "to sit as a master".