give

Give is defined as to hand, present or place.

(verb)

An example of give is for a child to offer his toy to another child.

YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2013 by LoveToKnow Corp.

See give in Webster's New World College Dictionary

transitive verb gave, given, giving

  1. to turn over the possession or control of to someone without cost or exchange; make a gift of
  2. to hand or pass over into the trust or keeping of someone: to give the porter a bag to carry, to give a daughter in marriage
  3. to hand or pass over in exchange for something else; sell (goods, services, etc.) for a price or pay (a price) for goods, services, etc.
  4. to relay; pass along: to give regards to someone
  5. to produce in a person or thing; cause to have; impart: to give pleasure, to give someone a cold
  6. to confer or assign (a title, position, name, etc.)
  7. to act as host or sponsor of (a party, dance, etc.)
  8. ☆ to put in communication with, as by telephone
  9. to be the source, origin, or cause of; produce; supply: cows give milk
    1. to part with for some cause; sacrifice: to give one's life for a cause
    2. to devote to some occupation, pursuit, etc.: to give one's life to art
  10. to concede; yield: to give a point in an argument
  11. to offer or yield (oneself) to a man for sexual intercourse
  12. to show; exhibit: to give every indication of being a fool
  13. to put forward for acceptance or rejection; offer; proffer: to give a suggestion
    1. to perform: to give a concert
    2. to introduce or present (a speaker, the subject of a toast, etc.)
  14. to make (a gesture, movement, etc.): to give a leap
  15. to perform (a physical act): to give someone a hug, kiss, etc.
  16. to administer or dispense (medicine, etc.)
  17. to utter, emit, or produce (words, sounds, etc.); put in words; state: to give a reply
  18. to inflict or impose (punishment, sentence, etc.)

Origin: ME given (with g- < ON gefa, to give), yeven < OE giefan, akin to Ger geben < IE base *ghabh-, to grasp, take > L habere, to have: the special Gmc sense of this base results from its use as a substitute for IE *dō- (as in L dare, to give)

intransitive verb

  1. to make gifts or donations; contribute
  2. to bend, sink, move, break down, yield, etc. from force or pressure
  3. to be springy; be resilient
  4. to provide a view of, or a way of getting to, someplace; open: usually with on, upon, or onto: the window gives on the park
  5. Informal to occur; happen
    chiefly in the phrase what gives?
  6. Slang to abandon a claim, fight, etc.; give in or give up

noun

  1. a bending, moving, sinking, etc. under pressure
  2. a tendency to be springy; resilience

See give in American Heritage Dictionary 4

verb gave gave (gāv), giv·en (gĭvˈən), giv·ing, gives
verb, transitive
  1. To make a present of: We gave her flowers for her birthday.
  2. To place in the hands of; pass: Give me the scissors.
  3. a. To deliver in exchange or recompense; pay: gave five dollars for the book.
    b. To let go for a price; sell: gave the used car away for two thousand dollars.
  4. a. To administer: give him some cough medicine.
    b. To convey by a physical action: gave me a punch in the nose.
    c. To inflict as punishment: gave the child a spanking; was given life imprisonment for the crime.
    d. Law To accord by verdict: A decision was given for the plaintiff.
  5. a. To bestow, especially officially; confer: The Bill of Rights gives us freedom of speech.
    b. To accord or tender to another: Give him your confidence.
    c. To put temporarily at the disposal of: gave them the cottage for a week.
    d. To entrust to another, usually for a specified reason: gave me the keys for safekeeping.
    e. To convey or offer for conveyance: Give him my best wishes.
    f. Law To execute and deliver. Used especially in the phrase give bond.
  6. a. To endure the loss of; sacrifice: gave her son to the war; gave her life for her country.
    b. To devote or apply completely: gives herself to her work.
    c. To furnish or contribute: gave their time to help others.
    d. To offer in good faith; pledge: Give me your word.
  7. a. To allot as a portion or share.
    b. To bestow (a name, for example).
    c. To attribute (blame, for example) to someone; assign.
    d. To award as due: gave us first prize.
  8. To emit or utter: gave a groan; gave a muted response.
  9. To submit for consideration, acceptance, or use: give an opinion; give an excuse.
  10. a. To proffer to another: gave the toddler my hand.
    b. To consent to engage (oneself) in sexual intercourse with a man.
  11. a. To perform for an audience: give a recital.
    b. To present to view: gave the sign to begin.
  12. a. To offer as entertainment: give a dinner party.
    b. To propose as a toast.
  13. a. To be a source of; afford: His remark gave offense. Music gives her pleasure.
    b. To cause to catch or be subject to (a disease or bodily condition): The draft gave me a cold.
    c. To guide or direct, as by persuasion or behavior. Used with an infinitive phrase: You gave me to imagine you approved of my report.
  14. a. To yield or produce: Cows give milk.
    b. To bring forth or bear: trees that give fruit.
    c. To produce as a result of calculation: 5 × 12 gives 60.
  15. a. To manifest or show: gives promise of brilliance; gave evidence of tampering.
    b. To carry out (a physical movement): give a wink; give a start.
  16. To permit one to have or take: gave us an hour to finish.
  17. To take an interest to the extent of: “My dear, I don't give a damn” (Margaret Mitchell).
verb, intransitive
  1. To make gifts or donations: gives generously to charity.
  2. a. To yield to physical force.
    b. To collapse from force or pressure: The roof gave under the weight of the snow.
    c. To yield to change: Both sides will have to give on some issues.
  3. To afford access or a view; open: The doors give onto a terrace.
  4. Slang To be in progress; happen: What gives?
noun
  1. Capacity or inclination to yield under pressure.
  2. The quality or condition of resilience; springiness: “Fruits that have some give … will have more juice than hard ones” (Elizabeth Schneider).
Phrasal Verbs: give away To make a gift of. To present (a bride) to the bridegroom at a wedding ceremony.
a. To reveal or make known, often accidentally.
b. To betray.
give back To return: gave me back my book. give in To hand in; submit: She gave in her report. To cease opposition; yield. give of To devote or contribute: She really gave of her time to help. They give of themselves to improve the quality of education. give off To send forth; emit: chemical changes that give off energy. give out To allow to be known; declare publicly: gave out the bad news. To send forth; emit: gave out a steady buzzing. To distribute: gave out the surplus food. To stop functioning; fail. To become used up or exhausted; run out: Their determination finally gave out. give over To hand over; entrust.
a. To devote to a particular purpose or use: gave the day over to merrymaking.
b. To surrender (oneself) completely; abandon: finally gave myself over to grief.
To cause an activity to stop: ordered the combatants to give over. give up
a. To surrender: The suspects gave themselves up.
b. To devote (oneself) completely: gave herself up to her work.
a. To cease to do or perform: gave up their search.
b. To desist from; stop: gave up smoking.
To part with; relinquish: gave up the apartment; gave up all hope.
a. To lose hope for: We had given the dog up as lost.
b. To lose hope of seeing: We'd given you up an hour ago.
To admit defeat. To abandon what one is doing or planning to do: gave up on writing the novel.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English given

Origin: , from Old English giefan

Origin: and Old Norse gefa; see ghabh- in Indo-European roots

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