To own something means to have it as your property, with the right to use it, keep it, or give it away. When you own a bicycle, it's yours to ride, decorate, or lend to a friend. When your parents own your house, they can decide how to use the rooms or whether to paint the walls.

Ownership brings both freedom and responsibility. If you own a pet goldfish, you get to enjoy watching it swim, but you're also responsible for feeding it and keeping its bowl clean. Companies own businesses, families own homes, and authors own the rights to their books.

The word has some interesting other uses too. When someone owns up to a mistake, they admit they did it, taking responsibility rather than blaming others. In sports or games, if someone completely dominates, people might say they owned the competition. And when you truly master something you've worked hard at, you can be said to own that skill. A gymnast might absolutely own her floor routine after months of practice, performing with total confidence and control.

As an adjective, own means “belonging to you.” You might say, “I made my own lunch,” or “That idea was her own.”