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

Cub starter Colin Rea gave up just one run in five innings in his no-decision. —Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2025

Los Angeles has given up 52 goals through 25 games, the worst defensive record in the league. —Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 15 Aug. 2025

Arizona suffers the largest cuts under the plan outlined Aug. 15, giving up 30 percent of the Central Arizona Project's normal supply. —Austin Corona, AZCentral.com, 15 Aug. 2025

His proposal that Ukraine give up the Donbas region to Russia is unacceptable to Kyiv and Brussels but seems to have won favor with Trump. —Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 15 Aug. 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