1
a
: particular, specified
at a given time
b
: assumed as actual or hypothetical : granted
given that all are equal before the law
3
: presented as a gift : bestowed without compensation
4
of an official document
: having been executed : dated
5
: immediately present in experience
: something given
especially
: something taken for granted : a basic condition or assumption
It is a given that we are in an age of relentless competition.
: in view of : considering
Given what she knew about others' lives, how could she complain about her own?—
Marilyn French
Marilyn FrenchExamples of given in a Sentence
Adjective
a quiet man not given to loud expressions of emotion
candidates for the quiz show must complete the qualifying test within a given amount of time
Noun
In our system it is a given that all are equal before the law.
it's a given that television viewers are influenced by advertising, even consciously or subconsciously
Recent Examples on the Web
Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
Bing, for its part, went off the rails early on, prompting Microsoft to scale back both its personality and the number of questions users could ask it in a given conversation.
—Will Oremus, Washington Post, 5 June 2023
Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025
Among geologists, there are givens: Humans don’t build things that last a million years.
—Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for given
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Adjective
Does a user keep expressing linguistic markers throughout a given conversation?
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
Bing, for its part, went off the rails early on, prompting Microsoft to scale back both its personality and the number of questions users could ask it in a given conversation.
—Will Oremus, Washington Post, 5 June 2023
Noun
Where the show’s values were once givens, almost diorama labels, now they’re presented as more fugitive and unstable, what its characters would hope the world to be.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025
Among geologists, there are givens: Humans don’t build things that last a million years.
—Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for given
Cite this Entry
“Given.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/given. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
given
1 of 2 adjective
giv·en
ˈgiv-ən 
1
: prone sense 1
given to gossiping
2
: fixed sense 1b, particular
at a given time
3
: granted as true
given that we are all equal
given
2 of 2 noun
: something taken for granted : a basic condition or assumption
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