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

Reliever Luke Weaver walked the free-swinging Ceddanne Rafaela, gave up a hustle double to Nick Sogard, then surrendered the go-ahead two-run single to pinch-hitter Masataka Yoshida that ultimately proved to be the deciding blow. —Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025

Rothenberger threw a complete-game shutout, allowing just three hits and striking out six in the championship game, capping off a run that saw Rothenberger pitch all 21 innings across three state tournament games, giving up just two runs. —Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2025

Miami gave up a 43-yard scoring run to QB Justin Fields and a late TD catch by Garrett Wilson and a two-point conversion inside of two minutes left for the final score. —Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025

Many parents are beyond frustrated, and others have simply given up. —Jean M. Twenge, Time, 30 Sep. 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