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

Phrases

give up the ghost

: to cease to live or function : die

Synonyms

• relinquish
• surrender
• render
• deliver
• 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

With six unicorns under his belt, Lefkofsky is not ready to give up the CEO’s role at Tempus anytime soon. —Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 3 Sep. 2025

In the years since, home prices have surged and the nation’s housing shortage has deepened — conditions that risk leading some young adults to give up on the dream of homeownership altogether. —Sara Chernikoff, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025

The Panthers gave up 3,057 rushing yards in 2024 — the most in the league and the third most in any single season in NFL history. —Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 2 Sep. 2025

Alphabet Shares up big after a federal court judge ruled Alphabet doesn't have to give up Chrome, the leading web browser. —Jason Gewirtz, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2025

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