've

Verb

've (clitic)

1. (clitic) Have (in its sense marking the perfect or retrospective aspect).
   • Santorum, in a comment regarding Senator John McCain's repudiation of torture, stated, "He doesn't understand how enhanced interrogation works. I mean, you break somebody, and after they've broken they become cooperative" (Summers 2011).2015 November 30, Shane O'Mara, Why Torture Doesn’t Work: The Neuroscience of Interrogation, Harvard University Press, →ISBN, page 12
2. (clitic) Have (in its other uses).
   • Do n’t tell me you ‘have n’t got time,’ / That other things claim your attention; / There ’s not the least reason or rhyme / In the wisest excuse you can mention: / Do n’t tell me about ‘other fish,’ / Your duty is done when you buy ’em; / And you never will relish the dish, / Unless you ’ve a...1845 March, “Editor’s Table”, in The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, volume XXV, New York, N.Y.: […] John Allen, […], page 267, columns 1–2
   • "...Where's the ladies' in this joint? I've to powder me nose."1996, Deirdre Purcell, Roses After Rain, page 335