have one's way

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

have one's way (third-person singular simple present has one's way, present participle having one's way, simple past and past participle had one's way)

1. (idiomatic, of a person) To obtain the circumstances one wishes for; to do what one wishes to do, or to have others do what one wishes them to do.
2. (idiomatic) To achieve a desired or natural result.
   • 1898, J. Meade Falkner, chapter 5, in Moonfleet, London, Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934:

     He held out to me a bowl of steaming broth, that filled the room with a savour sweeter, ten thousand times, to me than every rose and lily of the world; yet would not let me drink it at a gulp, but made me sip it with a spoon like any baby. {{..}} And so it was ten days or more before youth and health had their way, and I was strong again; and all that time Elzevir Block sat by my bed, and nursed me tenderly as a woman. So piece by piece I learned the story of how they found me.

3. (euphemistic, followed by with) To have sexual intercourse with, especially without the consent of one's partner.

Derived terms

• have one's way with

Translations

to obtain the circumstances one wishes for

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Danish: få sin vilje
• Finnish: saada tahtonsa läpi
• Italian: averla vinta
• Portuguese: please add this translation if you can

to achieve a desired or natural result

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: tehdä tehtävänsä
• Portuguese: please add this translation if you can

to have sexual intercourse with — see have one's way with