give

—givable, giveable, adj., n. —givee, n. —giver, n.

/giv/, v., gave, given, giving, n.

v.t.

1. to present voluntarily and without expecting compensation; bestow: to give a birthday present to someone.

2. to hand to someone: Give me that plate, please.

3. to place in someone's care: If you give me your coat, I'll put it in the closet.

4. to grant (permission, opportunity, etc.) to someone: Give me a chance.

5. to impart or communicate: to give advice; to give a cold to someone.

6. to set forth or show; present; offer: He gave no reason for his lateness.

7. to pay or transfer possession to another in exchange for something: They gave five dollars for the picture. He gave me the car for $800.

8. to furnish, provide, or proffer: to give evidence; Let me give you my umbrella before you go out in this rain.

9. to provide as an entertainment or social function: to give a New Year's Eve party.

10. to deal or administer: to give a blow to someone; to give medicine to a patient.

11. to put forth, emit, or utter; issue: to give a cry; to give a command.

12. to assign or admit as a basis of calculation or reasoning (usually used passively): These facts being given, the argument makes sense.

13. to produce, yield, or afford: to give good results; 9 × 8 gives 72; The hen gave six eggs a week.

14. to make, do, or perform: to give a start; to give a lurch.

15. to perform or present publicly: to give a play; to give a concert.

16. to cause; be responsible for (usually fol. by an infinitive): They gave me to understand that you would be there.

17. to care about something to the value or extent of (something fanciful): I don't give a hoot about his opinion.

18. to relinquish or sacrifice: to give one's life for a cause.

19. to convey or transmit: Give Aunt Betty my love.

20. to assign or allot: Give every man a full ration of biscuits. They gave him the name of "Joseph."

21. to bestow (the object of one's choice) upon, as if by providence: Give me the wide open spaces anytime.

22. to be connected with, as by a telephone operator: Give me 235-7522.

23. to present to an audience, as an entertainer, speaker, or act: Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the governor of Texas.

24. to attribute or ascribe: to give the devil his due; After long study the critic gave the unsigned work to a minor impressionist.

25. to cause or occasion: She gives me a pain in the neck.

26. to apply fully or freely: He gives his free time to golf.

27. to award by verdict or after consideration: A decision was given for the defendant.

28. to inflict as a punishment on another; punish by; impose a sentence of: The judge gave him five years.

29. to pledge, offer as a pledge, or execute and deliver: He gave her his promise. Can you give bond?

30. to propose as the subject of a toast (fol. by an indirect object): Ladies and gentlemen, I give you our country.

31. to bear to a man; deliver (fol. by an indirect object): She gave him a beautiful baby boy.

32. to sire upon a woman; father (fol. by an indirect object): He gave her two children in the first five years of marriage.

33. to concede or grant, as a point in an argument.

v.i.

34. to make a gift or gifts; contribute: to give to the United Way.

35. to yield somewhat, as to influence or force; compromise: We can't negotiate until each side is willing to give on some points.

36. to yield somewhat when subjected to weight, force, pressure, etc.: A horsehair mattress doesn't give much.

37. to collapse; break down; fall apart; fail: The antique chair gave when I sat on it.

38. to be warm and open in relationships with other persons: a withdrawn person who doesn't know how to give.

39. Informal. to divulge information: Okay now, give! What happened?

40. to afford a view or passage; face, open, or lead (usually fol. by on, onto, etc.): The window gives on the sea. This door gives onto the hallway.

41. give and take,

a. to compromise in order to cooperate: A willingness to give and take is important for success in marriage.

b. to exchange ideas: an informal meeting in which there would be opportunities to give and take.

42. give away,

a. to give as a present; bestow.

b. to present (the bride) to the bridegroom in a marriage ceremony.

c. to expose or betray (a person).

d. to reveal (a confidence or secret, hidden motives, true feelings, etc.): That remark gave away his real feelings.

43. give back, to return (something), as to its owner; restore: You haven't given back the books you borrowed from me.

44. give battle. See battle¹ (def. 6).

45. give birth to. See birth (def. 8).

46. give ground, to yield before superior force, as of arms or of reasoning.

47. give in,

a. to acknowledge defeat; yield.

b. to hand in; deliver: Please give in your timecards.

48. give it to, Informal. to reprimand or punish: His father really gave it to him for coming home so late.

49. give of, to devote or contribute generously of: to give of oneself; to give of one's abundance.

50. give off, to put forth; emit: The gardenia gives off a very strong fragrance.

51. give or take, plus or minus a specified amount; more or less: It will cost $20, give or take a dollar or two.

52. give out,

a. to send out; emit.

b. to make public; announce.

c. to distribute; issue.

d. to become exhausted.

e. to become used up; fail: The fuel gave out.

f. to do or express something, esp. unrestrainedly or easily: to give out with a song.

53. give over,

a. to put into the care of; transfer: She gave over all her property to her daughter.

b. to put an end to; stop: They will never give over their impossible dreams.

c. to indulge in without restraint: She gave herself over to tears.

d. to devote to a specified activity: The day was given over to relaxing in the sun.

54. give rise to. See rise (def. 55).

55. give up,

a. to abandon hope; despair.

b. to desist from; renounce: to give up smoking.

c. to surrender; relinquish.

d. to devote (oneself) entirely to: She gave herself up to her job and seldom saw her old friends.

e. South Midland U.S. to consider; deem: She's given up to be the kindest woman around here.

56. give way. See way (def. 26).

n.

57. the quality or state of being resilient; springiness.

[bef. 900; ME < ON gefa (cf. Dan give); r. ME yeven, yiven, OE gefan, giefan; c. D geven, G geben, Goth giban]

Syn. 1. offer, vouchsafe, impart, accord, furnish, provide, supply, donate, contribute. GIVE, CONFER, GRANT, PRESENT may mean that something concrete or abstract is bestowed on one person by another. GIVE is the general word: to give someone a book, permission, etc. CONFER usually means to give an honor or a favor; it implies courteous and gracious giving: to confer a degree. GRANT is limited to the idea of acceding to a request; it may apply to the bestowal of privileges, or the fulfillment of an expressed wish: to grant a charter, a prayer, permission, etc. PRESENT, a more formal word than GIVE, usually implies a certain ceremony in the giving: to present a citation to a regiment. 18. cede, yield.

Ant. 1. receive.

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