v. 1 present, deliver, pass (over), turn or hand over, confer, vouchsafe, provide, supply, furnish, bestow, donate, accord, afford, award, hand out, contribute, distribute, grant, allow, transfer, make over, entrust Please give me the envelope I have given the files to the tax inspector. Give freely to charity. 2 exchange, pay, transfer, trade, barter, swap or swop Philippa gave a week's salary for that dress 3 impart, pass on, communicate, transmit, send, convey, express Give my regards to Broadway 4 afflict with, cause, occasion Rock music gives me a headache 5 sacrifice, devote, dedicate, yield (up), surrender, give up, cede, concede, consign, apply (oneself) to Those monks have given their lives to the study of Scripture 6 present, offer; announce, introduce Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Madja Kiziamainska, the Polish Nightingale! 7 present, announce, offer, recite, sing, act, perform, read, put on We were asked to give a performance for charity 8 utter, emit, give out (with), issue He gave a shout to warn us 9 yield, relax, give way, fail, collapse, buckle, break down, fall or come apart If that pillar gives, the balcony will come down 10 cause, lead, induce, persuade, make, prompt, move, dispose I was given to understand that I was not welcome 11 cede, relinquish, concede, allow, surrender, yield He gave me the first game but I lost the second 12 give away. a See 1, above. b reveal, betray, let out, divulge, disclose, expose, inform on, uncover, leak, let slip; let the cat out of the bag; Colloq blow the whistle on, Slang rat on, US fink on The traitor gave me away, and I was arrested 13 give in. yield, submit, give up, give ground, back away (from), back off, capitulate, surrender, admit defeat After trying for hours to make him change his mind, he finally gave in 14 give off. give out, emit, exude, exhale, discharge, send or throw out, release, smell of Her clothing gave off a scent of lavender 15 give out. a See 14, above. b distribute, hand out, give, deal (out), pass out or around, disseminate, dispense, allot, apportion, allocate, assign, distribute, issue, mete or hand out, ration (out), dole (out), pay, Colloq dish or fork out, shell out The prizes will be given out to the winners at a special ceremony She was giving out handbills to passers-by. c publish, announce, make known, broadcast, impart, issue, make public, reveal You shouldn't give out that kind of information d become exhausted, be reduced or depleted, fail, run out What will we do when the food gives out? e See 8, above 16 give over. assign, resign, hand over, surrender, relinquish, pass or over, give up; assign, entrust We gave our dog over to Lambert's for training 17 give up. a abandon, stop, cease, quit, leave off, forgo, forsake, renounce, desist from, swear off, abstain from; reject; Colloq cut out, chuck I am trying to give up smoking b surrender, capitulate, yield, cede, concede, give in (to defeat), throw in the towel or sponge; despair I've tried to convince him but finally gave up c See 4, above. d See 13, above. e See 16, above.
n. 18 slack, play, leeway, excess; flexibility, stretch There is very little give in the rules governing working hours Nylon is used for boat anchor rodes because it has some give.