gave up

past tense of give up
1
as in relinquished
to give (something) over to the control or possession of another usually under duress was in so much debt he had to give up his house and move into a cheaper apartment

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
3
4
as in indulged
to give (oneself) over to something especially unrestrainedly even in the darkest days of her troubled marriage, she refused to give herself up to feelings of utter hopelessness

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of gave up Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller gave up three hits in five scoreless innings. ABC News, 22 July 2026 Schweikert gave up his bid for reelection in order to pursue the governor’s race and lost to Biggs on Tuesday. Rebecca Schneid, Time, 22 July 2026 That’s a lot of anger toward someone who just gave up their entire summer for your entertainment. Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 14 July 2026 To focus on baseball, Roch gave up a scholarship offer to play quarterback at Notre Dame. Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 13 July 2026 The Packers then blew a 21-3 halftime lead in the Wild Card round against Chicago, gave up 25 fourth quarter points and eventually suffered a shocking 31-27 loss to the arch-rival Bears. Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026 On the other side, Giants ace Logan Webb, a Rocklin native, gave up five first-inning runs to put the team in an early hole, which the Blue Jays built on by scoring another five over the last two innings off two San Francisco relievers. Sean Campbell, Sacbee.com, 8 July 2026 Even if Boeing gave up some of the Atlas Vs under its contractual control, ULA would not be able to easily retrofit any of the leftover Atlas Vs for other missions. Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 7 July 2026 Cade Civalli gave up one hit in seven innings and had a career-high 13 strikeouts in the Washington Nationals' 8-1 victory over the Red Sox on Tuesday night, snapping Boston's five-game winning streak. CBS News, 1 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gave up
Verb
  • The sculptures were among 34 Southeast Asian antiquities voluntarily relinquished by the collector in 2021 after investigators determined they had been looted.
    ABC News, ABC News, 23 July 2026
  • In 2021, the unnamed collector who bought them voluntarily relinquished for repatriation nearly three dozen Cambodian and Southeast Asian antiquities purchased from Latchford between 2003 and 2007.
    Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 16 July 2026
Verb
  • Officers said the driver abandoned his car in Los Alamitos and fled on foot.
    Seamus Bozeman Follow, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2026
  • Security officials said the truck was later found abandoned and set on fire about 21 kilometers (13 miles) away from the scene.
    ABC News, ABC News, 23 July 2026
Verb
  • Then England took the lead and, within sight of the final, succumbed to doubt.
    Sam Knight, New Yorker, 20 July 2026
  • The side tried their best to shake off the summer cobwebs in this friendly against Championship side Wrexham, but ultimately succumbed to a 1-0 defeat.
    Carl Anka, New York Times, 19 July 2026
Verb
  • Within the home, the dogs were indulged to an unusual degree, holding status as nearly full members of the family.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 July 2026
  • Portugal, as our crew wrote, indulged Ronaldo and paid the price.
    Chris Branch, New York Times, 7 July 2026
Verb
  • Digging deeper, Ober has surrendered eight of 13 home runs this year to 132 batters faced on the road, including coughing up six to 73 lefties.
    Josh Shepardson, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • One knee sock had surrendered and slipped several inches lower than the other.
    Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 22 July 2026
Verb
  • John Healey quit his former post last month after accusing then-premier Keir Starmer of endangering Britain by not committing to spending 3% of GDP on defense by 2030.
    J.D. Capelouto, semafor.com, 20 July 2026
  • After the 2023 complaint, Benton wasn’t interviewed by House leadership for an astounding three months, by which point the staffer had already quit her job, according to Tribune reporting.
    The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 20 July 2026
Verb
  • But the traps that felled Starmer lurk in most issues Burnham must tackle.
    Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 17 July 2026
  • Spain came into the game unbeaten in 36 games and took the lead from the penalty spot when Lucas Digne swung a leg without looking and felled Lamine Yamal.
    Jack Lang, New York Times, 14 July 2026
Verb
  • Even for those in the financial ‘elite’ that Newcastle hope to join soon, vast transfer spending has rendered sales increasingly integral.
    Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 18 July 2026
  • The project was born from Hebden’s long-running Spotify playlist, which has swelled to more than 2,300 songs and 192 hours of music in its decade of existence, and whose title is also rendered in a perpetually changing string of Wingdings.
    Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 18 July 2026

Cite this Entry

“Gave up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gave%20up. Accessed 24 Jul. 2026.

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