had

IPA/hæd/
KK[hˈæd]IPA/hæd/

had — verb

1. the past tense of 'have', used for saying someone owned, experienced, or did som

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveA1
Definition

the past tense of 'have', used for saying someone owned, experienced, or did something in the past; also the past participle form, used with another past participle to show an action finished before a later time in the past

Example

Vikram had a black cat when he lived in his grandmother's house.

had + noun phrase (possession)

The meeting had already finished by the time Lucía arrived at the office.

had + already + past participle (past perfect)

Grammar Patterns

had + noun phrase

had + past participle

had + been + present participle

Usage Note

This sense covers the grammatical function of 'had' as the past form of 'have'. The specific meaning (possession, experience, eating, obligation, etc.) depends on which sense of the base verb 'have' is being used. Where 'have' is an auxiliary verb for the past perfect, 'had' can combine with almost any past participle.

Common Mistakes

I had went to the store.
I had gone to the store.
After auxiliary 'had', use the past participle form of the next verb, not the simple past.
She had already leave.
She had already left.
The main verb after auxiliary 'had' must be in past participle form.

2. used in the fixed expression 'have had it' to describe a machine or device so ol

2.verbB2
Definition

used in the fixed expression 'have had it' to describe a machine or device so old or damaged that fixing it is pointless, or a person, group, or situation where the chance of success has passed and failure is certain

Example

The washing machine has had it — the drum stopped turning and water leaks everywhere.

fixed phrase: has had it (machine)

After four losses in a row, the team knew it had had it for the season.

had had it (team/group, past perfect)

Common collocations
  • has had it
  • had had it
  • know (someone/something) has had it
Synonyms
  • done for

    equally informal; can describe people or things that are finished

  • finished

    neutral and widely understood; less dramatic than 'done for'

  • kaput

    very informal, mostly used for machines and devices; from German

Antonyms
  • working

    for machines; opposite of 'kaput' or 'broken beyond repair'

  • still in the running

    for teams or people; opposite of 'doomed to fail'

Grammar Patterns

subject + have/has had it

subject + had had it

Usage Note

Always appears in a perfect tense — 'has had it' (present perfect) or 'had had it' (past perfect). Cannot be used without the perfect auxiliary: ✗ 'my car had it' (wrong). The subject is usually a thing (appliance, vehicle, device) or a collective noun (team, company, project).

Common Mistakes

The printer had it after jamming.
The printer has had it after jamming.
The expression requires the perfect form 'has had' or 'had had', not simple past.
I've had it with this noise.
(This is correct but a DIFFERENT meaning
'I've had it' can also mean 'I'm very annoyed.' The BROKEN OR DOOMED sense applies to things and groups, not personal frustration.)

had — adjective

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe being treated dishonestly, but they differ in scope and formality. 'Cheated' is the broadest and most neutral term — it covers any dishonest act, from a card game to a business deal. 'Ripped off' is informal and strongly tied to money: you are ripped off when you pay too much for something of poor quality. 'Taken advantage of' is softer and can apply to non-financial situations, such as someone exploiting your trust or kindness. 'Swindled' is the most formal and dramatic, implying a carefully planned fraud with significant losses. For example: a tourist who pays NT$500 for a NT$100 scarf has been ripped off; an investor who loses her savings to a fake company has been swindled.

cheated ↗ripped offtaken advantage ofswindled ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • had it
  • be had
  • been had

Etymology

Proto-Indo-EuropeanProto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

'Had' is the past tense and past participle of 'have'. It comes from Old English 'hæfde', the past form of 'habban' (meaning to own or hold), which traces back to the Proto-Germanic root '*habjan' and further to the Proto-Indo-European root '*keh₂p-' meaning 'to grasp or seize'.