GIVE


Meaning of GIVE in English

/ 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 .

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.