Dictionary

have one's way en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

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.
   • 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. [1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, “In the Vault”, in Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC, pages 62–63:
3. (euphemistic, followed by with) To have sexual intercourse with, especially without the consent of one's partner.

Forms

Deriveds

have one's way with

Synonyms

get one's way

Translations (19)

es salirse con la suya (to obtain the circumstances one wishes for) · pl postawić na swoim (to achieve a desired or natural result) · cmn 水到渠成 (to achieve a desired or natural result) · cmn 如願以償 /如愿以偿 (to obtain the circumstances one wishes for) · pl dopinać swego (to achieve a desired or natural result) · pl dopinać swego (to obtain the circumstances one wishes for) · cmn 達到目的 /达到目的 (to achieve a desired or natural result) · pl stawiać na swoim (to achieve a desired or natural result) · pl dopiąć swego (to obtain the circumstances one wishes for) · pl stawiać na swoim (to obtain the circumstances one wishes for) · es salir con la suya (to obtain the circumstances one wishes for) · pl dopiąć swego (to achieve a desired or natural result) · da få sin vilje (to obtain the circumstances one wishes for) · fi tehdä tehtävänsä (to achieve a desired or natural result) · it averla vinta (to obtain the circumstances one wishes for) · cmn 隨心所欲 /随心所欲 (to obtain the circumstances one wishes for) · es hacer de las suyas (to obtain the circumstances one wishes for) · fi saada tahtonsa läpi (to obtain the circumstances one wishes for) · pl postawić na swoim (to obtain the circumstances one wishes for)