give way

phrase

1

a

: retreat

b

: to yield the right of way

2

: to yield oneself without restraint or control

3

a

: to yield to or as if to physical stress

The roof gave way under heavy snow.

b

: to yield to entreaty or insistence

After several hours of debate, the opposition finally gave way.

4

: to yield place

Farmland has given way to shopping malls.

5

: to begin to row

Examples of give way in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Still, their modest earnings would ultimately give way to industry recognition and greater career opportunities. — Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 7 Nov. 2026

Long story short, the gold rush of the CBS years (MLB payrolls doubled between the start of the deal and the network’s final season) quickly gave way to a staggering depletion of resources. — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 6 Nov. 2026

By Thursday, however, that optimism had given way to fears that Democrats could use their new political leverage to impose tighter regulation and rein in the AI buildout. — Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2026

When a team chooses which of two competing priorities gives way, people without authority have made an executive decision, and nobody upstairs knows. — Leslie Ellis, Forbes.com, 6 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for give way

• aaa
• alleyway
• alumnae
• anime
• anyway
• arete
• attache
• axillae
• baa
• beaujolais
• bouvier
• breakaway