giveaway

1 of 2

noun

give·​away ˈgiv-ə-ˌwā How to pronounce giveaway (audio)
plural giveaways
1
: an unintentional revelation or betrayal
2
a
: something given away free
specifically : premium sense 1d
b
: the act of giving something away free
staging a promotional giveaway
3
: a radio or television program on which prizes are given away
4
sports : an error or poor play that allows an opponent to gain control of the ball or puck : a mistake that results in a turnover
As a team the Dolphins have committed a league-low 12 giveaways.Jim Trotter

give away

2 of 2

verb

gave away; given away; giving away; gives away

transitive verb

1
: to make a present of
2
: to deliver (a bride) ceremonially to the bridegroom at a wedding
3
4
: to give (something, such as weight) by way of a handicap

Examples of giveaway in a Sentence

Noun The way she looked at him was a dead giveaway that they were more than just friends. The store is offering coffee mugs as free giveaways to attract new customers. The store is staging a promotional giveaway to attract new customers. Verb the insincerity of his apology was given away by that slight smirk on his face gave away all her potted plants when she moved
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
And given high prices for EVs, subsidies are mainly a giveaway to the already well-off. Andy Kessler, WSJ, 12 Nov. 2023 Phone accessory maker PopSockets will now let people design their phone grips with AI via Stable Diffusion and award up to $100,000 in a holiday giveaway for the best designs. Emilia David, The Verge, 7 Nov. 2023 An anti-police activist who was involved in a physical altercation with Los Angeles City Councilmember Kevin De León at a holiday toy giveaway has filed a lawsuit against De León and the city, saying the event did not have sufficient security to protect the public. David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2023 So to launch the campaign, Barefoot has a major giveaway Swifties can get excited about. Sam Burros, Peoplemag, 2 Nov. 2023 The event will feature carnival games, special characters, a youth costume contest, giveaways and more. Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Oct. 2023 Click here to view the form and enter the giveaway (or use the form embedded below). WIRED, 13 Nov. 2023 The fair will conclude with a food giveaway sponsored by First Ward Living Grace Food Pantry. Arkansas Online, 1 Nov. 2023 And today, technology is maturing to the point that meaningful amounts of these energy giveaways can be harvested to liberate wearables from ever needing a battery. IEEE Spectrum, 1 Nov. 2023
Verb
The books will be given away at concerts that Pink, whose real name is Alecia Hart, is hosting in Southern Florida. Asher Notheis, Washington Examiner, 14 Nov. 2023 Scott has given away at least $14.4 billion since receiving a 4% stake in Amazon as part of the 2019 divorce settlement. Jemima McEvoy, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023 Since making her Giving Pledge in 2019, Scott has given away more than $14 billion to more than 1,600 non-profit organizations focused on solving a variety of problems, as well as universities, according to the Yield Giving page. Bysydney Lake, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2023 The screen can also show other content, like sports scores or the weather, but its primary gimmick is that the device is given away for free. Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 8 Nov. 2023 Art has definitely given away to commerce in a lot of situations. Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 2 Nov. 2023 Like previous years, the television personality gave away $250,000 to Black entrepreneurs in partnership with the NAACP and the show’s sponsors. Jenna Wang, Peoplemag, 1 Nov. 2023 One of Disneyland’s first major Halloween events occurred in 1959 with a parade of pumpkins, in which Disneyland gave away 1,000 pumpkins to be carved or dressed up for a contest. Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 18 Oct. 2023 Both sides are fearful that giving away too much on AI will come back to haunt them as these technologies rapidly develop. Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'giveaway.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1882, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of giveaway was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near giveaway

give a tinker's damn

giveaway

give away

Cite this Entry

“Giveaway.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/giveaway. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

giveaway

1 of 2 noun
give·​away ˈgiv-ə-ˌwā How to pronounce giveaway (audio)
1
: an unintentional act of revealing or betraying
his expression was a dead giveaway of his guilt
2
: something that is given away free
3
: an event at which things are given away

give away

2 of 2 verb
ˌgiv-ə-ˈwā
1
: to present (a bride) to the bridegroom at a wedding
2
a
: to show unintentionally

More from Merriam-Webster on giveaway

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