Meaning of give in English

  1. Pronunciation

    /ɡɪv/

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  1. Verb

    give

    Etymology

    Old English giefan, gefan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch geven and German geben

    Definitions

    1. cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense

    Examples

    • « She gave him a black eye »
    • « The draft gave me a cold »
  2. 2. be the cause or source of

    Examples

    • « He gave me a lot of trouble »
    • « Our meeting afforded much interesting information »
  3. 3. transfer possession of something concrete or abstract to somebody

    Examples

    • « I gave her my money »
    • « can you give me lessons? »
    • « She gave the children lots of love and tender loving care »

    Antonyms

  4. 4. convey or reveal information

    Examples

    • « Give one's name »
  5. 5. convey, as of a compliment, regards, attention, etc.

    Examples

    • « bestow »
    • « Don't pay him any mind »
    • « give the orders »
    • « Give him my best regards »
    • « pay attention »
  6. 6. organize or be responsible for

    Examples

    • « hold a reception »
    • « have, throw, or make a party »
    • « give a course »
  7. 7. convey or communicate

    Examples

    • « of a smile, a look, a physical gesture »
    • « Throw a glance »
    • « She gave me a dirty look »
  8. 8. give as a present

    Examples

    • « make a gift of »
    • « What will you give her for her birthday? »
  9. 9. bring about

    Examples

    • « His two singles gave the team the victory »
  10. 10. dedicate

    Examples

    • « give thought to »
    • « give priority to »
    • « pay attention to »
  11. 11. give or supply

    Examples

    • « The cow brings in 5 liters of milk »
    • « This year's crop yielded 1,000 bushels of corn »
    • « The estate renders some revenue for the family »
  12. 12. tell or deposit (information) knowledge

    Examples

    • « give a secret to the Russians »
    • « leave your name and address here »
  13. 13. bring about

    Examples

    • « The trompe l'oeil-illusion establishes depth »
  14. 14. leave with

    Examples

    • « give temporarily »
    • « Can I give you my keys while I go in the pool? »
    • « Can I give you the children for the weekend? »
  15. 15. emit or utter

    Examples

    • « Give a gulp »
    • « give a yelp »
  16. 16. endure the loss of

    Examples

    • « He gave his life for his children »
    • « I gave two sons to the war »
  17. 17. place into the hands or custody of

    Examples

    • « hand me the spoon, please »
    • « Turn the files over to me, please »
    • « He turned over the prisoner to his lawyers »
  18. 18. give entirely to a specific person, activity, or cause

    Examples

    • « She committed herself to the work of God »
    • « give one's talents to a good cause »
    • « consecrate your life to the church »
  19. 19. give (as medicine)

    Examples

    • « I gave him the drug »
  20. 20. give or convey physically

    Examples

    • « She gave him First Aid »
    • « I gave him a punch in the nose »
  21. 21. bestow

    Examples

    • « give hommage »
    • « render thanks »
  22. 22. bestow, especially officially

    Examples

    • « grant a degree »
    • « give a divorce »
    • « This bill grants us new rights »
  23. 23. move in order to make room for someone for something

    Examples

    • « The park gave way to a supermarket »
    • « 'Move over,' he told the crowd »
  24. 24. give food to

    Examples

    • « Feed the starving children in India »
    • « don't give the child this tough meat »

    Antonyms

  25. 25. contribute to some cause

    Examples

    • « I gave at the office »
  26. 26. break down, literally or metaphorically

    Examples

    • « The wall collapsed »
    • « The business collapsed »
    • « The dam broke »
    • « The roof collapsed »
    • « The wall gave in »
    • « The roof finally gave under the weight of the ice »
  27. 27. estimate the duration or outcome of something

    Examples

    • « He gave the patient three months to live »
    • « I gave him a very good chance at success »
  28. 28. execute and deliver

    Examples

    • « Give bond »
  29. 29. deliver in exchange or recompense

    Examples

    • « I'll give you three books for four CDs »
  30. 30. afford access to

    Examples

    • « the door opens to the patio »
    • « The French doors give onto a terrace »
  31. 31. present to view

    Examples

    • « He gave the sign to start »
  32. 32. perform for an audience

    Examples

    • « Pollini is giving another concert in New York »
  33. 33. be flexible under stress of physical force

    Examples

    • « This material doesn't give »
  34. 34. propose

    Examples

    • « He gave the first of many toasts at the birthday party »
  35. 35. legal use: accord by verdict

    Examples

    • « give a decision for the plaintiff »
  36. 36. manifest or show

    Examples

    • « This student gives promise of real creativity »
    • « The office gave evidence of tampering »
  37. 37. offer in good faith

    Examples

    • « He gave her his word »
  38. 38. submit for consideration, judgment, or use

    Examples

    • « give one's opinion »
    • « give an excuse »
  39. 39. guide or direct, as by behavior of persuasion

    Examples

    • « You gave me to think that you agreed with me »
  40. 40. allow to have or take

    Examples

    • « I give you two minutes to respond »
  41. 41. inflict as a punishment

    Examples

    • « She gave the boy a good spanking »
    • « The judge gave me 10 years »
  42. 42. occur

    Examples

    • « what gives? »
  43. 43. consent to engage in sexual intercourse with a man

    Examples

    • « She gave herself to many men »
  44. 44. proffer (a body part)

    Examples

    • « She gave her hand to her little sister »

  45. Noun

    give

    Definitions

    1. the elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length
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