give
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɡɪv/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (UK) (file) Audio (file) - Rhymes: -ɪv
Etymology
From Middle English given, from Old Norse gefa (“to give”), from Proto-Germanic *gebaną (“to give”). Merged with native Middle English yiven, ȝeven, from Old English ġiefan, from the same Proto-Germanic source (compare the obsolete inherited English doublet yive).
Verb
give (third-person singular simple present gives, present participle giving, simple past gave, past participle given)
- (ditransitive) To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere.
- To transfer one's possession or holding of (something) to (someone).
- I gave him my coat.
- I gave my coat to the beggar.
- When they asked, I gave my coat.
- To make a present or gift of.
- I'm going to give my wife a necklace for her birthday.
- She gave a pair of shoes to her husband for their anniversary.
- He gives of his energies to the organization.
- To pledge.
- I gave him my word that I'd protect his children.
- To provide (something) to (someone), to allow or afford.
- I gave them permission to miss tomorrow's class.
- Please give me some more time.
- To cause (a sensation or feeling) to exist in.
- It gives me a lot of pleasure to be here tonight.
- The fence gave me an electric shock.
- My mother-in-law gives me nothing but grief.
- To carry out (a physical interaction) with (something).
- I want to give you a kiss.
- She gave him a hug.
- I'd like to give the tire a kick.
- I gave the boy a push on the swing.
- She gave me a wink afterwards, so I knew she was joking.
- 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 5, in The Celebrity:
- Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps, with something of the stately pose which Richter has given his Queen Louise on the stairway, […] .
- To pass (something) into (someone's) hand or the like.
- Give me your hand.
- On entering the house, he gave his coat to the doorman.
- To cause (a disease or condition) in, or to transmit (a disease or condition) to.
- My boyfriend gave me chlamydia.
- He was convinced that it was his alcoholism that gave him cancer.
- 1699, William Temple, Heads designed for an essay on conversations
- Study gives strength to the mind; conversation, grace: the first apt to give stiffness, the other suppleness: one gives substance and form to the statue, the other polishes it.
- To transfer one's possession or holding of (something) to (someone).
- (ditransitive) To estimate or predict (a duration or probability) for (something).
- I give it ten minutes before he gives up.
- I give it a 95% chance of success.
- I'll give their marriage six months.
- (intransitive) To yield slightly when a force is applied.
- 1992, Garry Wills, “prologue”, in Lincoln at Gettysburg, page 21:
- A soldier noticed how earth "gave" as he walked over the shallow trenches.
-
- (intransitive) To collapse under pressure or force.
- One pillar gave, then more, and suddenly the whole floor pancaked onto the floor below.
- (transitive) To provide, as, a service or a broadcast.
- They're giving my favorite show!
- 2003, Iain Aitken, Value-Driven IT Management: Commercializing the IT Function, page 153
- […] who did not have a culture in which 'giving good presentation' and successfully playing the internal political game was the way up.
- 2006, Christopher Matthew Spencer The Ebay Entrepreneur, page 248
- A friendly voice on the phone welcoming prospective new clients is a must. Don't underestimate the importance of giving good "phone".
- (intransitive) To lead (onto or into).
- The master bedroom gives onto a spacious balcony.
- (transitive, dated) To provide a view of.
- His window gave the park.
- To exhibit as a product or result; to produce; to yield.
- The number of men, divided by the number of ships, gives four hundred to each ship.
- To cause; to make; used with the infinitive.
- (Can we date this quote?) William Shakespeare
- But there the duke was given to understand / That in a gondola were seen together / Lorenzo and his amorous Jessica.
- (Can we date this quote?) William Shakespeare
- To cause (someone) to have; produce in (someone); effectuate.
- 1997, Jim Smoke, How a Man Measures Success, page 82:
- "Can do" gives me a choice, while "should do" gives me a complex.
-
- To allow or admit by way of supposition; to concede.
- He can be bad-tempered, I'll give you that, but he's a hard worker.
- (Can we date this quote?) John Milton
- I give not heaven for lost.
- To attribute; to assign; to adjudge.
- (Can we date this quote?) Sheridan
- I don't wonder at people's giving him to me as a lover.
- (Can we date this quote?) Sheridan
- To communicate or announce (advice, tidings, etc.); to pronounce or utter (an opinion, a judgment, a shout, etc.).
- (dated) To grant power or permission to; to allow.
- (Can we date this quote?) Rowe
- It is given me once again to behold my friend.
- (Can we date this quote?) Alexander Pope
- Then give thy friend to shed the sacred wine.
- (Can we date this quote?) Rowe
- (reflexive) To devote or apply (oneself).
- The soldiers give themselves to plunder.
- That boy is given to fits of bad temper.
- (obsolete) To become soft or moist.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Francis Bacon to this entry?)
- (obsolete) To shed tears; to weep.
- (Can we date this quote?) William Shakespeare
- Whose eyes do never give / But through lust and laughter.
- (Can we date this quote?) William Shakespeare
- (obsolete) To have a misgiving.
- (Can we date this quote?) J. Webster
- My mind gives ye're reserved / To rob poor market women.
- (Can we date this quote?) J. Webster
- To be going on, to be occurring
- What gives?
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
See also given, giver and giving
Terms derived from give
- begive
- foregive
- forgive
- give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime
- give and take
- give away
- give away the store
- give back
- give birth
- give forth
- give ground
- give head
- give in
- give it one's all
- give it one's best shot
- give it up for
- given
- give off
- give one's all
- give one's daughter away
- give on to
- give or take
- give out
- give over
- give pause
- give someone a break
- give someone a chance
- give someone a kiss
- give someone grief
- give someone the business
- give someone the time of day
- give something a miss
- give something a shot
- give something a try
- give thanks
- give to understand
- give up
- give way
- givee
- it is better to give than to receive
- overgive
- something's got to give
- upgive
- what gives?
- you only get what you give
Translations
transfer the possession of something to someone else
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bend slightly when a force is applied
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Noun
give (uncountable)
Translations
give (noun)
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Danish
Alternative forms
- gi' (representing the spoken language)
Etymology
From Old Norse gefa, from Proto-Germanic *gebaną, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰab(ʰ)-.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɡiː/, /ɡiːvə/, [ˈɡ̊iːˀ], [ˈɡ̊iːʋə]
- Rhymes: -iː, -iːvɐ
Conjugation
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