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

Zelenskyy said during the talks that Kyiv was willing to give up its NATO membership ambitions in order to secure a deal to end the war. —Chloe Taylor,greg Kennedy, CNBC, 16 Dec. 2025

Dolphins overcame a Tagovailoa interception -- his NFL-leading 15th -- to cash a 54-yard field goal, then gave up a 1-yard Steelers scoring run in the last seconds of the half. —Miami Herald, 16 Dec. 2025

After giving up 48 points to the Jacksonville Jaguars in their latest loss, the New York Jets have fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks with three games remaining on the 2025 schedule. —Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 16 Dec. 2025

The Rams scored a touchdown to take a 27-24 lead, and Campbell gave up on the run. —CBS News, 16 Dec. 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