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

see also:

give up the ghost

Synonyms of give up

• relinquish
• surrender
• deliver
• render
• 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

Kevin Lankinen gave up three goals on 12 shots in relief. —ABC News, 29 Mar. 2026

The Bulls have been careening toward this turning point in the season since the trade deadline, which kickstarted a 5-16 collapse as the front office (temporarily) gave up on the postseason. —Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 28 Mar. 2026

Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow gave up two runs and four hits in six innings and struck out six in his season debut. —CBS News, 28 Mar. 2026

Kikuchi gave up two runs in 4⅓ innings, throwing 86 pitches. —Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 28 Mar. 2026

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