have reason

English

Etymology

From have + reason, partly after Middle French avoir raison.

Verb

have reason (third-person singular simple present has reason, present participle having reason, simple past and past participle had reason)

1. (obsolete) To be right. [15th–18th c.]
   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 56, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book I, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

     They would have no man use it as an interjection or exclamation, not to be alleaged as a witnesse or comparison, wherein I find they have reason.

2. To have grounds, justification etc. (to do something, or for something).
   • 2008 December 12, Martin Kettle, The Guardian:

     The finance minister had reason to be exasperated. Britain's economic future hinges on Europe, and this is no time for animus.

Derived terms

• have reason to believe