Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense gives, present participle giving, past tense gave, past participle given
1. verb [no cont]
You can use give with nouns that refer to physical actions. The whole expression refers to the performing of the action. For example, She gave a smile means almost the same as 'She smiled'.
She stretched her arms out and gave a great yawn. [VERB noun]
Giving a sigh, she fell to her knees at my feet. [VERB noun]
He gave her a fond smile. [VERB noun noun]
He reached for her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. [VERB noun noun]
Synonyms: perform, do, carry out, execute More Synonyms of give
2. verb
You use give to say that a person does something for another person. For example, if you give someone a lift, you take them somewhere in your car.
I gave her a lift back out to her house. [beVERB-ed noun]
He was given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. [VERB noun noun]
Sophie asked her if she would like to come and give art lessons. [VERB noun]
3. verb
You use give with nouns that refer to information, opinions, or greetings to indicate that something is communicated. For example, if you give someone some news, you tell it to them.
He gave no details. [VERB noun]
Would you like to give me your name? [VERB noun noun]
He asked me to give his regards to all of you. [VERB noun + to]
He gave the cause of death as multiple injuries. [VERB noun + as]
Synonyms: communicate, announce, publish, transmit More Synonyms of give
4. verb
You use give to say how long you think something will last or how much you think something will be.
A poll last week gave the opposition a narrow six-point lead. [VERB noun noun]
Ted and his lawyers gave the company 11 months to sell off everything. [VERB noun noun]
5. verb [no cont, no passive]
People use give in expressions such as I don't give a damn to show that they do not care about something.
[informal, feelings]
They don't give a damn about the country. [VERB noun]
6. verb
If someone or something gives you a particular idea or impression, it causes you to have that idea or impression.
They gave me the impression that they were doing exactly what they wanted in life. [VERB noun noun]
The examiner's final report does not give an accurate picture. [VERB noun]
7. verb
If someone or something gives you a particular physical or emotional feeling, it makes you experience it.
He gave me a shock. [VERB noun noun]
It will give great pleasure to the many thousands of children who visit the hospitaleach year. [VERB noun + to]
[Also VERB noun]
Synonyms: produce, make, cause, occasion [formal] More Synonyms of give
8. verb
If you give a performance or speech, you perform or speak in public.
Kotto gives a stupendous performance. [VERB noun]
I am sure you remember Mrs Butler who gave us such an interesting talk last year. [VERB noun noun]
9. verb
If you give something thought or attention, you think about it, concentrate on it, or deal with it.
I've been giving it some thought. [VERB noun noun]
Priority will be given to those who apply early. [beVERB-ed + to]
10. verb
If you give a party or other social event, you organize it.
That evening, I gave a dinner party for a few close friends. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: organize, hold, provide, host More Synonyms of give
More Synonyms of give
give transferring
(gɪv)
Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense gives, present participle giving, past tense gave, past participle given
1. verb
If you give someone something that you own or have bought, you provide them with it, so that they have it or can use it.
They gave us T-shirts and stickers. [VERB noun noun]
They gave money to 708 families for school uniforms. [VERB noun + to]
This recipe was given to me years ago by a farmer's wife. [VERB noun to noun]
Americans are still giving to charity despite hard economic times. [VERB + to]
Synonyms: present, contribute, donate, provide More Synonyms of give
2. verb
If you give someone something that you are holding or that is near you, you pass it to them,so that they are then holding it.
Give me that pencil. [VERB noun noun]
He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and gave it to him. [VERB noun + to]
3. verb
To give someone or something a particular power or right means to allow them to have it.
...a citizen's charter giving rights to gays. [VERB noun + to]
The draft would give the president the power to appoint the central bank's chairman. [VERB noun noun]
Synonyms: confer, allow, accord, award More Synonyms of give
give other uses, phrases, and phrasal verbs
(gɪv)
Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense gives, present participle giving, past tense gave, past participle given
1. verb
If something gives, it collapses or breaks under pressure.
My knees gave under me. [VERB]
Synonyms: collapse, fall, break, sink More Synonyms of give
2. passive verb
You say that you are givento understand or believe that something is the case when you do not want to say how you found out about it, or who told you.
[formal, vagueness]
We were given to understand that he was ill. [beVERB-ed to-infinitive]
He has been given to believe that there may be a future for him and Maria together. [beVERB-ed to-infinitive]
3. See also given
4.
See give as good as one gets
5.
See I'd give anything
6.
See give me
7.
See give and take
8.
See give or take
9.
See I'll give you that
10.
See give it up for
11. to give the game away
12. to give up the ghost
13. to give someone hell
14. to give notice
15. to give rise to
16. to give way
Phrasal verbs:
See give away
See give back
See give in
See give off
See give out
See give over
See give over to
See give up
See give up on
See give up to
give in British English
(ɡɪv)
verbWord forms: gives, giving, gave (ɡeɪv) or given (ˈɡɪvən)(mainly tr)
1. (also intr)
to present or deliver voluntarily (something that is one's own) to the permanent possession of another or others
2. (often foll by for)
to transfer (something that is one's own, esp money) to the possession of anotheras part of an exchange
to give fifty pounds for a painting
3.
to place in the temporary possession of another
I gave him my watch while I went swimming
4. (whenintr, foll by of)
to grant, provide, or bestow
give me some advice
5.
to administer
to give a reprimand
6.
to award or attribute
to give blame, praise, etc
7.
to be a source of
he gives no trouble
8.
to impart or communicate
to give news
give a person a cold
9.
to utter or emit
to give a shout
10.
to perform, make, or do
the car gave a jolt and stopped
11.
to sacrifice or devote
he gave his life for his country
12.
to surrender
to give place to others
13.
to concede or yield
I will give you this game
14. (intransitive) informal
to happen
what gives?
15. (often foll by to)
to cause; lead
she gave me to believe that she would come
16. (foll by for)
to value (something) at
I don't give anything for his promises
17.
to perform or present as an entertainment
to give a play
18.
to propose as a toast
I give you the Queen
19. (intransitive)
to yield or break under force or pressure
this surface will give if you sit on it
his courage will never give
20. give as good as one gets
21. give battle
22. give birth
23. give a person five
24. give ground
25. give me
26. give someone one
27. give or take
28. give rise to
29. give it up for someone
30. give way
31. give a person what for
noun
32.
a tendency to yield under pressure; resilience
there's bound to be some give in a long plank
there is no give in his moral views
Derived forms
givable (ˈgivable) or giveable (ˈgiveable)
adjective
giver (ˈgiver)
noun
Word origin
Old English giefan; related to Old Norse gefa, Gothic giban, Old High German geban, Swedish giva
give in American English
(gɪv)
verb transitiveWord forms: gave, ˈgiven, ˈgiving
1.
to turn over the possession or control of to someone without cost or exchange; make a gift of
2.
to hand or pass over into the trust or keeping of someone
to give the porter a bag to carry, to give a daughter in marriage
3.
to hand or pass over in exchange for something else; sell (goods, services, etc.)for a price or pay (a price) for goods, services, etc.
4.
to relay; pass along
to give regards to someone
5.
to produce in a person or thing; cause to have; impart
to give pleasure, to give someone a cold
6.
to confer or assign (a title, position, name, etc.)
7.
to act as host or sponsor of (a party, dance, etc.)
8. US
to put in communication with, as by telephone
9.
to be the source, origin, or cause of; produce; supply
cows give milk
10.
a.
to part with for some cause; sacrifice
to give one's life for a cause
b.
to devote to some occupation, pursuit, etc.
to give one's life to art
11.
to concede; yield
to give a point in an argument
12.
to offer or yield (oneself) to a man for sexual intercourse
13.
to show; exhibit
to give every indication of being a fool
14.
to put forward for acceptance or rejection; offer; proffer
to give a suggestion
15.
a.
to perform
to give a concert
b.
to introduce or present (a speaker, the subject of a toast, etc.)
16.
to make (a gesture, movement, etc.)
to give a leap
17.
to perform (a physical act)
to give someone a hug, kiss, etc.
18.
to administer or dispense (medicine, etc.)
19.
to utter, emit, or produce (words, sounds, etc.); put in words; state
to give a reply
20.
to inflict or impose (punishment, sentence, etc.)
verb intransitive
21.
to make gifts or donations; contribute
22.
to bend, sink, move, break down, yield, etc. from force or pressure
23.
to be springy; be resilient
24.
to provide a view of, or a way of getting to, someplace; open
usually with on, upon, or onto
the window gives on the park
25. Informal
to occur; happen
: chiefly in the phrase what gives?
26. Slang
to abandon a claim, fight, etc.; give in or give up
noun
27.
a bending, moving, sinking, etc. under pressure
28.
a tendency to be springy; resilience
Idioms:
give and take
give away
give back
give forth
give in
give it to
give off
give or take
give out
give over
give to understand (or believe, etc.)
give up
SYNONYMY NOTE: give is the general word meaning to transfer from one's own possession to that of another;, grant implies that there has been a request or an expressed desire for the thing given[to grant a favor]; present implies a certain formality in the giving and often connotes considerable value inthe gift [he presented the school with a library]; donate is used especially of a giving to some philanthropic or religious cause; , bestow stresses that the thing is given gratuitously and often implies condescension inthe giver [to bestow charity upon the poor]; confer implies that the giver is a superior and that the thing given is an honor, privilege,etc. [to confer a title, a college degree, etc.]
Word origin
ME given (with g- < ON gefa, to give), yeven < OE giefan, akin to Ger geben < IE base *ghabh-, to grasp, take > L habere, to have: the special Gmc sense of this base results from its use as a substitutefor IE *dō- (as in L dare, to give)
Examples of 'give' in a sentence
give
We went upstairs and we read the script and we gave our thoughts about it.
The Sun (2016)
The new drug is not a cure but may give her more time.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
They just give lies on top of other lies.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
You just give a little touch and you get a lot from what was there.
The Sun (2016)
So this fairly long exposure gives the sense of movement.
Smithsonian Mag (2017)
The moon makes you wiser about love and you get the right balance between give and take.
The Sun (2016)
Just want to give something back.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
In most cases trained officers give sympathetic, effective and admirable support.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It's hard to say more without giving too much away.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
At some stage the long housing boom has to come to an end, given the expected pressure on consumer spending next year.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Two errors in the procedure adopted in the present case gave rise to concern.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Or were the cups given a little help?
The Sun (2012)
Was the captaincy something you had given much thought to before?
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
She had just about given up on life by then.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Turing opted for the latter and was given a long course of female hormone pills.
The Sun (2012)
They may give a little extra money.
Christianity Today (2000)
They access help step by step and have to take what is given to them by doctors.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Get it wrong and they may not want to give it another try.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Remember that real love means giving each other the time to be sure.
The Sun (2008)
The generals must be given fresh reasons for discontent.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
And they are also too pressed to give cases the time that they need.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It is also worth remembering that a little sunshine can give your health a boost.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The joy of science comes from really understanding something and not just giving a correct answer.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Now he faces pressure to give it up.
The Sun (2016)
It gives them something totally different to talk about.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
People who had thought a lot about others and given of themselves without thoughtof reward.
Chris Gidney CELEBRATING SECOMBE: A Tribute to Sir Harry Secombe (2002)
Tackling the gangs will take more than giving thugs long sentences or increasing police patrols.
The Sun (2011)
The censors may not have given their move much thought.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
I just knew that performing gave you confidence.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
I'm not saying his popularity gives him licence to say what he likes.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Quotations
It is more blessed to give than to receiveBible: Acts
In other languages
give
British English: give /ɡɪv/ VERB
If you give someone something, you let them have it to keep.
We always give our mother flowers on her birthday.
American English: give
Arabic: يُعْطِي
Brazilian Portuguese: dar
Chinese: 给
Croatian: dati
Czech: dát
Danish: give
Dutch: geven
European Spanish: dar
Finnish: antaa
French: donner
German: geben
Greek: δίνω
Italian: dare
Japanese: 与える
Korean: ...에게 ...을 주다
Norwegian: gi
Polish: dać
European Portuguese: dar
Romanian: a da
Russian: давать
Latin American Spanish: dar
Swedish: ge
Thai: ให้
Turkish: vermek
Ukrainian: давати
Vietnamese: cho
All related terms of 'give'
give in
If you give in , you admit that you are defeated or that you cannot do something.
give me
You use give me to say that you would rather have one thing than another, especially when you have just mentioned the thing that you do not want .
give up
If you give up something, you stop doing it or having it.
give away
If you give away something that you own, you give it to someone, rather than selling it, often because you no longer want it.
give back
If you give something back , you return it to the person who gave it to you.
give ear
to give attention , esp. favorable attention; listen ; heed
give head
to perform fellatio
give odds
to offer a bet with favourable odds
give off
If something gives off or gives out a gas , heat , or a smell , it produces it and sends it out into the air.
give onto
to afford a view or prospect of
give out
If you give out a number of things, you distribute them among a group of people.
give over
If you tell someone to give over , you are telling them to stop doing something, usually because they are annoying you.
give way
to collapse or break down
give advice
If you give someone advice , you tell them what you think they should do in a particular situation.
give battle
to commence fighting
give birth
When a woman gives birth , she produces a baby from her body.
give chase
If you give chase , you run after someone or follow them quickly in order to catch them.
give forth
to send forth ; emit ; issue
give ground
to draw back or retreat
give guard
(of an umpire ) to indicate the batsman's position relative to the stumps
give place
to make room
give thanks
When people give thanks , they thank God for something good that has happened .
give evidence
If you give evidence in a court of law or an official enquiry, you officially say what you know about people or events, or describe an occasion at which you were present .
give it to
to punish ; beat or scold
give offence
to cause annoyance or displeasure to someone
give offense
to offend ; anger , insult , etc.
give priority
If you give priority to something or someone, you treat them as more important than anything or anyone else.
give up on
If you give up on something or someone, you decide that you will never succeed in doing what you want to with them, and you stop trying to.
give up to
give a shit
If someone says that they do not give a shit about something, they mean that they do not care about it at all.
give a toss
If you say that you do not give a toss about someone or something, you are emphasizing that you do not care about them at all.
give it hot
to punish or thrash someone
give or take
Give or take is used to indicate that an amount is approximate . For example , if you say that something is fifty years old , give or take a few years, you mean that it is approximately fifty years old.
give over to
If something is given over or given up to a particular use, it is used entirely for that purpose .
give rise to
to be the cause of
give someone hell
If you say that something is giving you hell , you are emphasizing that it is causing you a lot of trouble or pain.
give suck to
to give (a baby or young animal) milk from the breast or udder
give vent to
to release (an emotion , passion , idea, etc) in an utterance or outburst
give way to
If one thing gives way to another, the first thing is replaced by the second .
give wing to
to enable to fly or soar on or as if on wings
to give way
If an object that is supporting something gives way , it breaks or collapses , so that it can no longer support that thing.
give-and-take
If you say that something requires give and take , you mean that people must compromise or co-operate for it to be successful .
give a reason
The reason for something is a fact or situation which explains why it happens or what causes it to happen.
give a speech
A speech is a formal talk which someone gives to an audience .
give birth to
To give birth to something such as an idea means to cause it to start to exist .
give credit to
to have confidence or trust in; believe
give effect to
to put into practice; make operative
give free rein
to allow considerable freedom ; remove restraints
give it heaps
to try very hard
give mouth to
to express in speech ; say
Chinese translation of 'give'
give
(ɡɪv)
Word forms:ptgave
Word forms:ppgiven
vt
(= hand over)
to give sb sth, give sth to sb给(給)某人某物 (gěi mǒurén mǒuwù) (as gift) 送给(給)某人某物 (sònggěi mǒurén mǒuwù)
I gave David the book, I gave the book to David我把这(這)本书(書)送给(給)了戴维(維) (wǒ bǎ zhè běn shū sònggěile Dàiwéi)
give it to him把它送给(給)他 (bǎ tā sònggěi tā)
(= provide)[advice, details]提供 (tígōng)
to give sb sth[opportunity, surprise, shock, job]给(給)某人某物 (gěi mǒurén mǒuwù)
I gave him the chance to deny it我给(給)他机(機)会(會)拒绝(絕) (wǒ gěi tā jīhuì jùjué)
you'll need to give me more time你需要给(給)我更多的时(時)间(間) (nǐ xūyào gěi wǒ gèng duō de shíjiān)
to give sb the impression that ... 给(給)某人 ... 的印象 (gěi mǒurén ... de yìnxiàng)
(= deliver)
to give a speech/a lecture作演讲(講)/讲(講)座 (zuò yǎnjiǎng/jiǎngzuò)
(= organize)
to give a party/dinner party etc做东(東)办(辦)一个(個)聚会(會)/宴会(會)等 (zuòdōng bàn yī gè jùhuì/yànhuì děng)
(used with noun to replace a verb)
to give a sigh/cry/shout etc叹(嘆)了口气(氣)/哭了出来(來)/大叫了一声(聲)等 (tànle kǒu qì/kūle chūlái/dàjiàole yī shēng děng)
to give a shrug/push耸(聳)了耸(聳)肩/推了一把 (sǒngle sǒng jiān/tuīle yī bǎ)
vi
(= break, collapse) (also give way) 支撑(撐)不住 (zhīchēng bù zhù)
his legs gave beneath him他腿软(軟)了 (tā tuǐ ruǎn le)
the roof/floor gave as I stepped on it我刚(剛)一踩上去屋顶(頂)/地板就塌了 (wǒ gāng yī cǎi shàngqù wūdǐng/dìbǎn jiù tā le)