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

The tool ends up accelerating not what’s holding the team back but whatever gave way first. — Illia Smoliienko, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026

The elbow gave way, bending in a direction it is not meant to. — Armando Salguero Outkick, FOXNews.com, 25 Sep. 2026

According to the National Weather Service, a cloudy morning and afternoon would give way to rain showers and fierce winds hit the area Friday evening and continue through Saturday morning. — Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 25 Sep. 2026

Inside, plastic gives way to brushed aluminum and Alcantara upholstery – a synthetic suede-like fabric– and the classic circular dials are reborn as digital displays set into a horizontal aluminum strip. — New Atlas, 24 Sep. 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