give up

verb

gave up; given up; giving up; gives up

transitive verb

1

: to yield control or possession of : surrender

forced to give up his job

2

: to desist from : abandon

refused to give up her efforts

3

: to declare incurable or insoluble

4

a

: to abandon (oneself) to a particular feeling, influence, or activity

gave himself up to despair

b

: to devote to a particular purpose or use

5

: to despair of seeing

we'd given you up

6

: to allow (a hit or run in baseball) while pitching

intransitive verb

: to cease doing or attempting something especially as an admission of defeat : quit

—often used with on

don't give up on the project

Phrases

give up the ghost

: to cease to live or function : die

Synonyms

• relinquish
• surrender
• render
• deliver
• turn in

Examples of give up in a Sentence

was in so much debt he had to give up his house and move into a cheaper apartment

I hope you won't give up playing the piano.

Recent Examples on the Web

In the trailer, Kathy recalls that six months after Mike died, Denise gave up the search for answers and had her husband legally declared dead. —Sean Neumann, People.com, 22 July 2025

And after the Rays cut the lead to 6-2 in the fourth with the help of a Sox error and a Taylor Walls double, Baz quickly gave up a two-run homer to Miguel Vargas in the fifth. —Marc Topkin, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 July 2025

Atlanta’s bullpen, on the other hand, gave up 15 runs in 10 innings. —David O'Brien, New York Times, 21 July 2025

Horton gave up two hits, walked three and struck out four in 5 2/3 innings. —Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 20 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for give up

• buttercup
• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup

Kids Definition

give up

verb

1

: surrender entry 1 sense 1

2

: to abandon (oneself) to a feeling, influence, or activity

3

: stop entry 1 sense 7a