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

Earlier, the Monarchs gave up seven runs in the third inning of an 8-1 loss to Rockwall-Heath. —Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2026

Neither was Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old Black girl who refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus months before Rosa Parks. —Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 7 Mar. 2026

After giving up a hit with two outs in the first, Karges retired eight batters in a row before giving up a leadoff single in the fifth. —Lou Ponsi, Oc Register, 7 Mar. 2026

Eventually, the former Disney star gave up. —Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 7 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