Possession is having some degree of control over something else. A person may be in possession of some property (although possession does not always imply ownership); a spirit may be in possession of a person. Like ownership, the possession of things is commonly regulated by states (see law). Languages indicate possession via the possessive case.

Specific meanings:

• A material possession is any item or property owned by a person or group. Wealth is a measure of a person's material possessions.
• A political possession is another word for a dependent area or a colony; that is, a territory under the control and protection of a larger country, but which is not considered part of that country. For example, Guam is a possession of the United States.
• Spiritual possession refers to the supposed ability of some spirits to inhabit a human body.
• Possession is also a type of ownership supported by some proponents of anarchism who seek to abolish private property as an institution of coercion.
• Possession is a 2002 motion picture based on the A. S. Byatt novel .