give

verb

\ ˈgiv

gave\ ˈgāv

\; given\ ˈgi-vən

\; giving

Definition of give

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to make a present of give a doll to a child

2a : to grant or bestow by formal action the law gives citizens the right to vote

b : to accord or yield to another gave him her confidence

3a : to put into the possession of another for his or her use gave me his phone number

b(1) : to administer as a sacrament

(2) : to administer as a medicine

c : to commit to another as a trust or responsibility and usually for an expressed reason

d : to transfer from one's authority or custody the sheriff gave the prisoner to the warden

e : to execute and deliver all employees must give bond

f : to convey to another give them my regards

4a : to offer to the action of another : proffer gave her his hand

b dated, of a woman : to yield (oneself) to a man in sexual intercourse

5a : to present in public performance give a concert

b : to present to view or observation gave the signal to start

6 : to provide by way of entertainment give a party

7 : to propose as a toast

8a : to designate as a share or portion : allot all the earth to thee and to thy race I give— John Milton

b : to make assignment of (a name)

c : to set forth as an actual or hypothetical datum give the dimensions of the room

d : to attribute in thought or utterance : ascribe gave the credit to you

9a : to yield as a product, consequence, or effect : produce cows give milk 84 divided by 12 gives 7

b : to bring forth : bear

10a : to yield possession of by way of exchange : pay

b : to dispose of for a price : sell

11a : to deliver by some bodily action gave him a push

b : to carry out (a movement, facial expression, etc.) gave a cynical smile

c : to inflict as punishment

d : to award by formal verdict judgment was given against the plaintiff

12 : to offer for consideration, acceptance, or use gives no reason for his absence

13a : to suffer the loss of : sacrifice gallantly gave his life for his country

b : to offer as appropriate or due especially to something higher or more worthy gave his spirit to God

c : to apply freely or fully : devote gave themselves to their work

d : to offer as a pledge I give you my word

14a : to cause one to have or receive mountains always gave him pleasure

b : to cause a person to catch by contagion, infection, or exposure

15a : to allow one to have or take give me time

b : to lead or attempt to lead —used with an infinitive you gave me to understand you'd be late

16 : to care to the extent of didn't give a hoot

intransitive verb

1 : to make gifts or presents gave generously to charities

2a : to yield to physical force or strain

b : to collapse from the application of force or pressure The canvas chair gave under her weight.

c : to undergo or submit to change for the strike to be settled, something has to give

3 : to afford a view or passage : open the window gives onto the terrace

4 : to enter wholeheartedly into an activity

5 slang : to be happening wants to know what gives

give birth

: to have a baby gave birth last Thursday

give birth to

1 : to produce as offspring gave birth to a son

2 : to be the source of

give chase

: to set off in pursuit

give ground

: to withdraw before superior force : retreat

give of

: to make available : provide generously freely gave of their time

give or take

: as an estimate accurate within (an amount to be added or subtracted) weighs 150 pounds, give or take a few pounds

give place to

: to be replaced or succeeded by optimism gave place to worry

give rise to

: to be the cause or source of : produce

give the gun

: to open the throttle of : speed up

give the lie to

1 : to accuse of falsehood

2 : to show to be false, inaccurate, or invalid

give tongue

of hounds : to begin barking on the scent

give way

1a : retreat

b : to yield the right of way

2 : to yield oneself without restraint or control

3a : to yield to or as if to physical stress The roof gave way under heavy snow.

b : to yield to entreaty or insistence After several hours of debate, the opposition finally gave way.

4 : to yield place Farmland has given way to shopping malls.

5 : to begin to row

give

noun

Definition of give (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : capacity or tendency to yield to force or strain : flexibility

2 : the ability of a material to bend or stretch The knitted fabric has a lot of give to it.

Other Words from give Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about give

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Choose the Right Synonym for give

Verb

give, present, donate, bestow, confer, afford mean to convey to another as a possession. give, the general term, is applicable to any passing over of anything by any means. give alms gave her a ride on a pony give my love to your mother present carries a note of formality and ceremony. present an award donate is likely to imply a publicized giving (as to charity). donate a piano to the orphanage bestow implies the conveying of something as a gift and may suggest condescension on the part of the giver. bestow unwanted advice confer implies a gracious giving (as of a favor or honor). confer an honorary degree afford implies a giving or bestowing usually as a natural or legitimate consequence of the character of the giver. the trees afford shade a development that affords us some hope

Verb

give, present, and donate mean to hand over to someone without looking for a return. give can be used of anything that is delivered in any way. Please give me your coat. I gave a friend a gift. present is used when something is given with some ceremony. They presented a trophy to the winner. donate is used for giving to a charity. Some kind person donated the toys.

Examples of give in a Sentence

Verb

She gave him a camera for Christmas. Are you giving this to me or only lending it? She has given money to many worthy causes. They're asking people to give money for a new hospital. Please give to our charity. We already gave at the office. It is better to give than to receive. He gave me the letter. He gave her his coat to hold. He gave me a head start.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

In any case, if someone develops RLS during pregnancy, the symptoms typically subside after giving birth, according to the NINDS. — Kristin Auble, SELF, "9 Facts to Know About Restless Legs Syndrome," 16 Mar. 2019 Continue for all of your eggs and give the tin a few gentle taps to allow the shaving cream to settle into any air pockets. — Country Living, "How to Make Shaving Cream Easter Eggs for Your Most Colorful Holiday Yet," 15 Mar. 2019 Her last public working appearance before giving birth was for the Commonwealth Games on March 22. — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Meghan Markle Has Attended Her Last Public Engagements Before Giving Birth," 14 Mar. 2019 The ships will also likely carry weapons, giving the fleet greater firepower and an asset commanders won’t hesitate to send on the most dangerous missions, since that won't mean endangering the lives of sailors. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The U.S. Navy Wants To Build a “Ghost Fleet” of Drone Warships," 14 Mar. 2019 While this is supposed to help the assistants like Alexa learn to give you better answers, this feature-not-a-bug has landed Amazon in a string of bizarre headlines. — Natt Garun, The Verge, "How to hear (and delete) every conversation your Amazon Alexa has recorded," 28 Feb. 2019 The Bra Recyclers gives gently used bras to women in need. — Woman's Day Staff, Woman's Day, "9 New Ways to Donate Your Clothes," 27 Feb. 2019 That Rami Malek somehow became the consensus choice here still kind of baffles me, especially when there’s Bradley Cooper giving the performance of a lifetime as sad, sweet, awful and tragic Jackson Maine. — Lindsey Bahr, The Seattle Times, "AP Oscar predictions: What will win, what should win," 20 Feb. 2019 Then that person can resell or give guns to others in Chicago, or keep them, leaving no paper trail behind. — German Lopez, Vox, "I’ve covered gun violence for years. The solutions aren’t a big mystery.," 14 Feb. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

These acts go well beyond the normal democratic give and take, where parties battle over the rules of elections at the margins. — Zack Beauchamp, Vox, "The Republican Party versus democracy," 17 Dec. 2018 Might the dynamics of the Trump-Pecker relationship provide insight into the perils of the continuing give and take between Trump and Putin? — Alex Finley - Center For Public Integrity, Vox, "Trump got the National Enquirer to bury his secrets. Did he do the same with Putin?," 21 Dec. 2018 Under the committee’s procedures, a deal is done by consensus — all members must agree, which often means a flurry of last-minute give-and-take. — New York Times, "China and Russia Move to Cut Human Rights Jobs in U.N. Peacekeeping," 27 June 2018 Amid the give and take of foreign policy, the plight of a single American can seem small and secondary. — William Mcgurn, WSJ, "Bring Pastor Andrew Brunson Home," 6 Aug. 2018 The larger point is that once a tradition goes and a necessary give-and-take becomes a matter of narrow legal right rather than sensible accommodation, each side loses something. — William Mcgurn, WSJ, "The Jim Acosta Hour," 19 Nov. 2018 There’s a certain give and take: A lot of gurus’ videos are inspired by other gurus, and some gurus will review or hype others’ brands on YouTube or social media. — Alex Abad-santos, Vox, "Laura Lee, Jeffree Star, and the racism scandal upending the YouTube beauty community, explained," 28 Aug. 2018 That makes sense: Pyongyang has long called for give and take. — Alex Ward, Vox, "North Korea is super pissed at Mike Pompeo and John Bolton — but not Trump.," 10 Aug. 2018 The annual give-away is sponsored by the Excell Marketing Corporation, a consortium of nearly 200 restaurant supply dealers to which Ramar Supply belongs. — Donna Vickroy, Daily Southtown, "The Center's new commercial-grade kitchen to honor Homer Glen man who battled heroin addiction," 14 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'give.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.