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

see also give up the ghost

Synonyms of give up

• relinquish
• surrender
• deliver
• render
• 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

Another team might be willing to give up that pick to sign McMillian long-term. —Luca Evans, Denver Post, 31 Jan. 2026

Djokovic never wants to give up his Grand Slam record. —Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2026

The meeting produced some optimism that a deal was within reach, but differences remain about who should give up more water if drought persists. —Brandon Loomis, AZCentral.com, 31 Jan. 2026

But Lake, one of the top women in the country, also didn’t want to give up on years of hard work climbing the ranks. —Jo Yurcaba, NBC news, 31 Jan. 2026

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