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

At 70 years old, Mahesh Chamadia had almost given up on the idea of losing weight. —Ayushi Shah, CNN Money, 8 Feb. 2026

The sheriff said Thursday that investigators have not given up on trying to retrieve camera recordings. —Los Angeles Times, 8 Feb. 2026

Jones isn’t giving up his other interests as a longer future in the sport materializes. —Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 7 Feb. 2026

Waiting in a strong market means giving up flexibility. —Allen Buchanan, Oc Register, 7 Feb. 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