give somebody/something away phrasal verb ( see also ↑ give )
1 . to give something to someone because you do not want or need it for yourself:
I gave most of my books away when I left college.
give somebody/something away to
Give your old clothes away to a thrift shop.
2 . to give something to someone without asking for any money, rather than selling it to them:
We’re giving away a free diary with tomorrow’s newspaper.
give somebody/something away to
We have 1,000 CDs to give away to our readers.
3 . to show where someone is or what they are doing or thinking when they are trying to keep this a secret:
Don’t worry, I won’t give you away.
Sue tried to smile, but her voice gave her away.
give yourself away
I knew that if I moved I would give myself away.
The look on his face gave the game away (=showed something that he was trying to keep secret) .
4 . to tell someone something that you should keep secret:
He gave away as little information as possible.
I don’t want to give away exactly how the system works.
I don’t want to give the game away (=give information that should be secret) by saying too much.
5 . to lose in a game or competition by doing something badly or making mistakes:
We gave away two goals in the first half.
The Democrats are now in danger of giving the whole election away.
6 . to give formal permission for a woman to marry a man as part of a traditional wedding ceremony