verb gave gave (gāv),
giv·en (gĭvˈən),
giv·ing,
gives verb, transitive- To make a present of: We gave her flowers for her birthday.
- To place in the hands of; pass: Give me the scissors.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
- To emit or utter: gave a groan; gave a muted response.
- To submit for consideration, acceptance, or use: give an opinion; give an excuse.
a. To proffer to another: gave the toddler my hand.
b. To consent to engage (oneself) in sexual intercourse with a man.
a. To perform for an audience: give a recital.
b. To present to view: gave the sign to begin.
a. To offer as entertainment: give a dinner party.
b. To propose as a toast.
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.
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.
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.
- To permit one to have or take: gave us an hour to finish.
- To take an interest to the extent of: “My dear, I don't give a damn” (Margaret Mitchell).
verb, intransitive- To make gifts or donations: gives generously to charity.
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.
- To afford access or a view; open: The doors give onto a terrace.
- Slang To be in progress; happen: What gives?
noun- Capacity or inclination to yield under pressure.
- 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 upa. 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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