the haves

plural noun

: people who have a lot of money and possessions : wealthy people

—usually used in the phrase the haves and the have-nots

the gap between the haves and the have-nots

Examples of the haves in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In the real estate brokerage industry, as in the housing market — where median home prices are now six times the median American income and a majority of American renters are spending more than 30 percent of their income on rent and utilities — there is a chasm between the haves and have-nots. —

Debra Kamin, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2024 Instead, Bowlin chips away the private-equity varnish to reveal the chasm between the haves and the have-nots. —

Longreads, 3 May 2024 The yawing divide between the haves and the have-nots couldn’t be more apparent. —

Susan Harley, The Mercury News, 23 Mar. 2024 In my perspective, the real fear isn't AI itself but the fear of being sorted into a class of the haves and have-nots. —

Cheryl Goodman, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024 To understand the chasm between programs like Oakland’s and Kentucky’s, consider the newest measure that separates the haves and have-nots: name, image and likeness funds. —

Billy Witz, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024 Tilly enjoyed the thirst shared between those two groups in particular: the haves dangling their opportunities tantalizingly before the have-nots. —

Xochitl Gonzalez, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2024 Poorer countries, however, are still struggling, resulting in an even bigger gap between the haves and the have-nots. —

Tori Latham, Robb Report, 28 Feb. 2024 And this situation is widening the divide between the haves and have-nots. —

Matt Egan, CNN, 2 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'the haves.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.