give (sth) up
— phrasal verb with give uk/ɡɪv/us/ɡɪv/verb gave, given
B1 If you give up a habit, such as smoking, or something such as alcohol, you stop doing it or using it:
[ + -ing verb ] I gave up smoking two years ago.
Don't offer him a cigarette, he's trying to give it up.
More examples
- Chewing gum can help people who are giving up smoking.
- She's agreed to give up chocolate for Lent.
- He gave up drinking on the advice of his doctor.
- Even though she's given up meat she still eats fish.
- I've promised her a holiday if she gives up smoking by next year.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Abstaining and refraining
- abstain
- abstemious
- abstention
- abstinence
- back off
- fast
- forborne
- give
- give up sth
- hors de combat
- keep
- keep (sb/sth) out of sth
- not be in the business of sth idiom
- refrain
- step back
- stop
- stop short of sth idiom
- swear off sth
- touch
- wouldn't touch sth with a barge pole idiom
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