possess
pos·sess/pəˈzɛs/verb
possess is spelled P-O-S-S-E-S-S, 2 syllables: pos·sess. The wrong spelling people search most is posess: about 580 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 2 in 10 of all searches for the word. Possess is a verb meaning “To have (something) as, or as if as, an owner; to have, to own”.
How many letters and syllables are in possess?
| Letters | 7: P-O-S-S-E-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: pos·sess |
| In writing | 10 times per million words; the 6,884th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, posess, about 580 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell possess?
Possess is spelled P-O-S-S-E-S-S. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 2 in 10 of the searches for possess in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is possess?
Possess appears 10 times per million words in written English, the 6,884th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce possess?
- US /pəˈzɛs/
- Australia /pəˈzes/
Possess has 2 syllables, split pos·sess in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-possess.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with possess?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as possess from its last stressed vowel (/ɛs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of possess
- possesses present, singular, he/she/it
- possessing participle, present
- possessed participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
- possest participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does possess mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To have (something) as, or as if as, an owner; to have, to own.
He does not even possess a working telephone.
- 2
Of an idea, thought, etc.: to dominate (someone's mind); to strongly influence.
- 3
Of a supernatural entity, especially one regarded as evil: to take control of (an animal or person's body or mind).
They thought he was possessed by evil spirits.
- 4
Of a person: to control or dominate (oneself or someone, or one's own or someone's heart, mind, etc.).
- 5
To dominate (a person) sexually; to have sexual intercourse with (a person).
- 6
archaicTo cause an idea, thought, etc., to strongly affect or influence (someone); to inspire, to preoccupy.
What on earth possessed you to go walking by the quarry at midnight?
- 7
archaicTo occupy the attention or time of (someone).
- 8
archaicTo obtain or seize (something); to gain, to win.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Possess in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.