I. ˈgiv verb
( gave ˈgāv ; or nonstandard give ˈgiv ; or dialect gin ˈgin ; or guv ˈgəv ; giv·en ˈgivən also -iv ə m or -ib ə m ; or nonstandard give or dialect gin or guv ; giving ; gives )
Etymology: Middle English given, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Swedish giva to give; akin to Old English giefan to give, Old High German geban, Old Norse gefa, Gothic giban to give, gabei wealth, Latin habēre to have, hold, Old Irish gaibid he takes, Lithuanian gabenti to take away, Sanskrit gabhasti hand
transitive verb
1.
a. : to confer the ownership of without receiving a return : make a present of
gave him a watch on his birthday
gave his books to the college
b. : to assign the future ownership of by will : bequeath , devise
gave and bequeathed a larger sum to the college than any other person in its history — B.F.Wright
c. : to contribute without compensation
did no more than a … citizen might be expected to do — bought bonds, gave blood, served as a civil-defense warden — H.N.Fairchild
2.
a. : to grant or bestow by or as if by formal action
has just been given two new honors — Harvey Breit
responsible for the law giving women … equal pay with men — Laura M. Berrien
b. : to let have in or as if in answer to a prayer — used with me as indirect object
as for me, give me liberty or give me death — Patrick Henry
give me the good old days
c. : to accord or yield to another
had never given him her confidence — Ellen Glasgow
3.
a. : to put into the possession of another for his use : hand
I'll give you a card to him and you go in there … and pick out what you want — S.H.Adams
b. : to provide or supply one with (food or drink)
give me a slab of that pie — K.M.Dodson
c.
(1) : to administer as a sacrament
giving extreme unction
(2) : to administer as a medicine
gave her spirits of ammonia and put ice on her forehead — Scott Fitzgerald
d. : to commit to the trust or keeping of another for a definite purpose
gave him a letter to mail
gave his suitcase to the porter
give the deck to the exec and get all the officers in the wardroom — Wirt Williams
e.
(1) : to transfer from one's authority, custody, or responsibility
gave the prisoner to the officials from the federal penitentiary
(2) : to transfer from parental authority and care
who giveth this woman to be married to this man — Book of Com. Prayer
f. : to execute and deliver
all new employees must give bond
g. : to offer (something immaterial) for conveyance or transmittal
give my regards to your family
give our greetings to all our friends
4.
a. : to offer to the action of another : proffer , expose
I gave my back to the smiters — Isa 50:6 (Revised Standard Version)
he got up and gave his hand to the visitor
give the sails to the wind
b. : to yield (oneself) to a man in sexual intercourse
a wild, harum-scarum woman who would have given herself to him … without marriage — Erle Stanley Gardner
c. : to perform the action appropriate or necessary to a public presentation or production of
the orchestra gives 10 concerts … each season — Claudia Cassidy
a serious effort to give us a real puppet show — R.L.Shayon
asked the soprano to give the group a song
d. : to present to view or observation
the injured man gave a few signs of life
gave evidence of promising intellectual gifts — C.A.Duniway
gave them a good example
e. : to have or show as an armorial bearing or emblem, badge, or livery
all his successors … may give the dozen white luces in their coat — Shakespeare
f. : to provide by way of entertainment : serve as host at
gave a dinner in honor of his guests
gave a ball for his nieces
give weekly teas
g. : to propose as a toast
I rise to give … the memory of a man well known to all — John Wilson †1854
gentlemen … I'll give you the ladies — Charles Dickens
h. archaic : to impart a tendency or propensity to : incline
5.
a. : to designate as a share or portion : allot
all the earth to thee and to thy race I give — John Milton
immediate and infallible revelation of this kind is not given to man — W.R.Inge
gave him the best room available
b. : to make assignment of (a name)
the term Bushmen … was given in the 17th century by the Dutch settlers to the diminutive hunting peoples — C.D.Forde
gave the child the name John
c. : to set forth as an actual or hypothetical datum : assume
three points of a circle are given
d. : to attribute in thought or speech : ascribe
gave all the glory to God
gave full weight to the evidence
a sound argument for giving the painting to Rembrandt
e. obsolete : to appoint a person to the office or function of
and he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers — Eph 4:11 (Authorized Version)
f. obsolete : to set down : regard , consider , deem
men's reports give him much wronged — Shakespeare
— usually used with for
gave him for drowned in one of the canals — Joseph Addison
6.
a. : to yield or furnish as a product, consequence, or effect : produce , emit
the gas gave its final flicker and went out — Jack McLaren
the can, now quite empty and resonant, gave forth a hollow clatter — C.G.D.Roberts
bushes … give forth a pungent aroma when the sun beats upon them — Norman Douglas
cows give milk
flints give sparks
a compound that gives a red color with iodine — Henry Tauber
b. : to yield or exhibit as a result of calculation or measurement
84 divided by 12 gives 7
the amount of lead … would by simple calculation give the age of the material — W.E.Swinton
a thermometer gives the temperature of the room — James Jeans
c. : to bring forth : bear
the largest ewe gave triplets — Breeder's Gazette
7.
a. : to yield possession of by way of exchange : hand over in exchange for something or in discharge of a debt or obligation : pay
what shall a man give in return for his life — Mt 16:26 (Revised Standard Version)
b. : to dispose of for a price : hand over for a consideration : sell
I can give you a jade necklace for five rupees — Robert Sherrod
c. archaic : to procure in exchange : be worth : fetch
the country … so much overstocked with timber that it would give no price — James Robertson
8.
a. : to deliver or deal by some bodily action
gave him a push down the stairs
gave her a kiss
b. : to carry out (a movement of or as if of the body) : execute , make
he gave a cryptic smile — Hallam Tennyson
could feel the ship give a convulsive lurch — T.B.Costain
c. : to inflict or impose as punishment
gave the slave 20 lashes
gave the boy a whipping
d. : to cause to be fired : discharge
gave a short burst and damaged the enemy plane
gave a salute of 21 guns
9.
a. : to put forth (a sound) : voice
he hesitated and gave a nervous laugh — Haldane Macfall
gave a hiss to attract the attention of the others — T.B.Costain
b. : to deliver verbally : utter
has never given me a cross word in his life — Ellen Glasgow
the student raised his hand and gave the right answer
his uncle gave him sound advice
the sergeant gave the command to the troops
the old man gave his blessing to the bride and groom
c. : to express as a wish : bid
I gave him good day and he stopped and looked at me — S.H.Adams
gave us good night and went sedately away — Eve Langley
d.
(1) : to award by formal verdict : deliver by appropriate legal authority
the judge gave him 10 years
the judgment was given against the plaintiff
(2) cricket : to rule on a fielder's appeal
the umpire gave the batsman out
e. : to offer, suggest, or imply in the course of speaking
the top kick always gave us that old business — Tom Shehan
don't give me that legal double-talk — Louis Auchincloss
10.
a. : to offer for the consideration, acceptance, or use of another
can give several explanations of the passage
gives no really good reason for his absence
after several years' work he finally gave his novel to the world
b. : to provide a description of : represent , portray
show me something of hers, something that seems to give her — H.G.Wells
an artist who gave a scene as it must have happened — Roger Fry
c. : to make known : impart knowledge of or information about
can give only a hint of the treasures to be found — Dana Burnet
the results were given in a long paper
the soldier gave his name, rank, and serial number
will you give me the right time
11.
a. : to suffer the loss of : sacrifice
had given two legs in the Second World War — Marya Mannes
gallantly gave his life for his country
b. : to offer by or as if by way of dedication or devotion : consign , commend
a resolution to give to God the half of his services … and the half of his money — M.J.Guest
gave Mr. Dorrit to the devil with great liberality — Charles Dickens
c. : to apply freely or fully : devote
children were giving themselves wholeheartedly to some raucous game — Maeve Brennan
he gave his youth to literature, languages, and mechanics — Edward Clodd
d. : to offer as a pledge
I give you my word of honor that it's true
12.
a. : to cause to have or receive : occasion
what dreams may come … must give us pause — Shakespeare
it gave his views a foundation of solid fact which was impressive — H.J.Laski
was buried in sight of the mountains which always gave him pleasure — Broadus Mitchell
b. : to cause a person to catch by or as if by contagion, infection, or exposure
she gave him her cold
the draft gave him a sore throat
c. : to produce (as a feeling) in a person or thing : bring about
you do not give self-respect and self-reliance by censorship — Joyce Cary
we ought not to give ourselves airs — Benjamin Jowett
the stage sets give charm to the production
d. : to be the source or origin of
this group gives some of our really vicious criminals — R.L.Jenkins
e. obsolete : put , set
give some stop to those atheistical and epicurean opinions — Matthew Hale
f. : to allow to have or take : permit , concede
give me a day to think the problem over
gave him 10 yards and still won the race
the patients are given a long rest every afternoon
was willing to give his opponent that point in the debate
g. : to be the cause of : be responsible for — used with an infinitive phrase as object
a novelist of experience … gives us to share his swift insight — Nation
you gave me to believe that the school meant more to you than anything — Lael Tucker
13. : to care to the extent of — usually used with negative
bewitched, bothered, and bewildered by life, he doesn't give a damn — Moore Raymond
didn't give a hang — Nelson Algren
14. : to make a telephone connection with
asked central to give him the long-distance operator
intransitive verb
1. : to make gifts or presents : contribute , donate
it is more blessed to give than to receive — Acts 20:35 (Revised Standard Version)
2. archaic : to deliver a blow or make an attack
furiously giving upon the enemy with a great shout — Henry Holcroft
3.
a. : to yield to physical force or strain : respond to pressure
the dummy … has a breakable shoulder bone built to give when its human counterpart would — R.M.Yoder
b. : to collapse from the application of force or pressure : break down
the rail of the fence gave suddenly under his weight — R.L.Stevenson
c. : to undergo or submit to a change through the modification of an inflexible attitude or the withdrawal from a rigid position : accept or make a concession
if something does not give … the whole North Atlantic fare structure could be thrown wide open — Richard Witkin
4. obsolete : to become moist : weep
flinty mankind whose eyes do never give but thorough lust and laughter — Shakespeare
5.
a. of weather : to become mild
b. of frozen ground : thaw
6. : to afford a view or passage : open , lead
a venerable lane giving on the cathedral close — Russell Kirk
a cluster of stores and boatyards giving onto the harbor — Pete Barrett
a cheerful compartment on the main deck with … a porthole giving out to sea — Horace Sutton
flung open the door which gave upon the landing — Dorothy Sayers
7.
a. : to enter wholeheartedly into an activity : get into the spirit of things
if the teacher himself is … skillful in inspiring his pupils they will let go and give — F.R.Rogers
b. : to impart information : talk
he just won't give ; he glares straight ahead and keeps his mouth closed — Bennett Cerf
8.
[translation of German gibt (in the expression was gibt's? what is going on?), 3d person singular present indicative of geben to give, from Old High German geban ]
: to take place : happen , occur — usually used in the phrase what gives
you poor dewy-eyed academics don't know what gives in the rough-and-tumble — Frances G. Patton
•
- give a good account of
- give and take
- give battle
- give birth
- give birth to
- give ground
- give guard
- give it to
- give one his head
- give or take
- give place
- give rise to
- give suck
- give thanks
- give the gun
- give the lie to
- give voice
- give way
II. noun
( -s )
1. : capacity or tendency to yield to force or strain
placing their saddles a little farther back … they say the horse's spine has more give or bend at this point — S.E.Fletcher
2. : the quality or state of being springy : elasticity , resilience
the give … of the knitted fabric makes it ideal for uses where any variables of conformation or stress exist — G.A.Urlaub