/ gɪv; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
( gave / geɪv; NAmE / given / ˈgɪvn; NAmE /)
HAND / PROVIDE
1.
give sth to sb | give sb sth to hand sth to sb so that they can look at it, use it or keep it for a time :
[ vn , vnn ]
Give the letter to your mother when you've read it.
Give your mother the letter.
[ vnn ]
They were all given a box to carry.
[ vn ]
She gave her ticket to the woman at the check-in desk.
2.
give sth to sb | give sb sth to hand sth to sb as a present; to allow sb to have sth as a present :
[ vnn ]
What are you giving your father for his birthday?
She was given a huge bunch of flowers.
Did you give the waiter a tip?
[ vn ]
We don't usually give presents to people at work.
[ v ]
They say it's better to give than to receive.
3.
give sth to sb | give sb sth to provide sb with sth :
[ vnn ]
They were all thirsty so I gave them a drink.
Give me your name and address.
We've been given a 2% pay increase.
I was hoping you would give me a job.
He was given a new heart in a five-hour operation.
She wants a job that gives her more responsibility.
Can I give you a ride to the station?
They couldn't give me any more information.
I'll give you (= allow you to have) ten minutes to prepare your answer.
Don't give me any of that backchat (= don't be rude) .
[ vn ]
He gives Italian lessons to his colleagues.
The reforms should give a better chance to the less able children.
MONEY
4.
give (sth) to sth to pay money to a charity, etc., to help people :
[ v ]
We need your help—please give generously.
They both gave regularly to charity.
[ vn ]
I gave a small donation.
5.
give (sb) sth for sth to pay in order to have or do sth :
[ vnn ]
How much will you give me for the car?
I'd give anything to see him again.
[ vn ]
I gave £50 for the lot.
TREAT AS IMPORTANT
6.
give sth to sb/sth to use time, energy, etc. for sb/sth :
[ vnn , vn ]
I gave the matter a lot of thought.
I gave a lot of thought to the matter.
[ vn ]
The government has given top priority to reforming the tax system.
PUNISHMENT
7.
give sth to sb | give sb sth to make sb suffer a particular punishment :
[ vnn ]
The judge gave him a nine-month suspended sentence.
[ vn ]
We discussed what punishment should be given to the boys.
ILLNESS
8.
give sth to sb | give sb sth to infect sb with an illness :
[ vnn ]
You've given me your cold.
[ vn ]
She'd given the bug to all her colleagues.
PARTY / EVENT
9.
[ vn ] if you give a party, you organize it and invite people
10.
[ vn ] to perform sth in public :
She gave a reading from her latest volume of poetry.
The President will be giving a press conference this afternoon.
DO / PRODUCE STH
11.
used with a noun to describe a particular action, giving the same meaning as the related verb : [ vn ]
She gave a shrug of her shoulders (= she shrugged ) .
He turned to us and gave a big smile (= smiled broadly) .
She looked up from her work and gave a yawn (= yawned) .
He gave a loud cry (= cried out loudly) and fell to the floor.
Her work has given pleasure to (= pleased) millions of readers.
[ vnn ]
He gave her a kiss (= kissed her) .
I have to admit that the news gave us a shock (= shocked us) .
We'll give you all the help we can (= help you in every way we can) .
HELP NOTE : For other similar expressions, look up the nouns in each. For example, you will find give your approval at approval .
12.
[ vnn ] to produce a particular feeling in sb :
All that driving has given me a headache.
Go for a walk. It'll give you an appetite.
TELEPHONE CALL
13.
[ vnn ] to make a telephone call to sb :
Give me a call tomorrow.
( BrE )
I'll give you a ring.
MARK / GRADE
14.
to judge sb/sth to be of a particular standard :
[ vnn ]
She had given the assignment an A.
I give it ten out of ten for originality.
[also vn ]
PREDICT HOW LONG
15.
[ vnn ] to predict that sth will last a particular length of time :
That marriage won't last. I'll give them two years, at the outside.
IN SPORT
16.
[ vn - adj ] to say that a player or the ball is in a particular position :
The umpire gave the ball out.
BEND
17.
[ v ] to bend or stretch under pressure :
The branch began to give under his weight.
( figurative )
We can't go on like this— something's got to give .
18.
[ v ] to agree to change your mind or give up some of your demands :
You're going to have to give a little.
•
IDIOMS
Most idioms containing give are at the entries for the nouns and adjectives in the idioms, for example, give rise to sth is at rise n.
- don't give me that
- give and take
- give as good as you get
- give it up (for sb)
- give me sth/sb (any day / time)
- give or take (sth)
- give sb to believe / understand (that) ...
- I give you ...
- I / I'll give you that
- what gives?
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- give sb away
- give sth away
- give sth/sb away
- give sb back sth | give sth back (to sb)
- give in (to sb/sth)
- give sth in (to sb)
- give off sth
- give on to / onto sth
- give out
- give sth out
- give out sth
- give over
- give yourself over to sth
- give sth over to sth
- give up
- give sb up
- give sth up
- give sth up (to sb)
- give yourself / sb up (to sb)
- give yourself up to sth
- give up on sb
■ noun
[ U ] the ability of sth to bend or stretch under pressure :
The shoes may seem tight at first, but the leather has plenty of give in it.
•
IDIOMS
- give and take
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English giefan , gefan , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch geven and German geben .