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

• cede
• cough up
• deliver
• hand over
• lay down
• relinquish
• render
• surrender
• turn in
• turn over
• yield

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

Plus, these Rangers were allergic to preventing scoring chances last season, giving up the second-most high-danger chances all year. —Scott Powers, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025

Following five scoreless frames, Dodgers right-hander Dustin May was chased with one out in the sixth, giving up a run on two singles and a walk to get the hook after 83 pitches. —Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2025

The man then hops onto a snow mobile and zooms away as the polar bear continues to chase him before eventually giving up and sitting down. —Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 29 Apr. 2025

While that aggressiveness is often praised, the Falcons had to give up their 2026 first round pick to the Los Angeles Rams to move up the draft board, a huge risk for a team unlikely to be challenging for a Super Bowl in 2025. —Ben Morse, CNN Money, 28 Apr. 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