Meaning of give in English
Verb
giveEtymology
Old English giefan, gefan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch geven and German gebenDefinitions
1. cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical senseExamples
- « She gave him a black eye »
- « The draft gave me a cold »
- 2. be the cause or source of
Examples
- « He gave me a lot of trouble »
- « Our meeting afforded much interesting information »
- 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. convey or reveal information
Examples
- « Give one's name »
- 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. organize or be responsible for
Examples
- « hold a reception »
- « have, throw, or make a party »
- « give a course »
- 7. convey or communicate
Examples
- « of a smile, a look, a physical gesture »
- « Throw a glance »
- « She gave me a dirty look »
- 8. give as a present
Examples
- « make a gift of »
- « What will you give her for her birthday? »
- 9. bring about
Examples
- « His two singles gave the team the victory »
- 10. dedicate
Examples
- « give thought to »
- « give priority to »
- « pay attention to »
- 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. tell or deposit (information) knowledge
Examples
- « give a secret to the Russians »
- « leave your name and address here »
- 13. bring about
Examples
- « The trompe l'oeil-illusion establishes depth »
- 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. emit or utter
Examples
- « Give a gulp »
- « give a yelp »
- 16. endure the loss of
Examples
- « He gave his life for his children »
- « I gave two sons to the war »
- 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. 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. give (as medicine)
Examples
- « I gave him the drug »
- 20. give or convey physically
Examples
- « She gave him First Aid »
- « I gave him a punch in the nose »
- 21. bestow
Examples
- « give hommage »
- « render thanks »
- 22. bestow, especially officially
Examples
- « grant a degree »
- « give a divorce »
- « This bill grants us new rights »
- 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. give food to
Examples
- « Feed the starving children in India »
- « don't give the child this tough meat »
Antonyms
- 25. contribute to some cause
Examples
- « I gave at the office »
- 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. 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. execute and deliver
Examples
- « Give bond »
- 29. deliver in exchange or recompense
Examples
- « I'll give you three books for four CDs »
- 30. afford access to
Examples
- « the door opens to the patio »
- « The French doors give onto a terrace »
- 31. present to view
Examples
- « He gave the sign to start »
- 32. perform for an audience
Examples
- « Pollini is giving another concert in New York »
- 33. be flexible under stress of physical force
Examples
- « This material doesn't give »
- 34. propose
Examples
- « He gave the first of many toasts at the birthday party »
- 35. legal use: accord by verdict
Examples
- « give a decision for the plaintiff »
- 36. manifest or show
Examples
- « This student gives promise of real creativity »
- « The office gave evidence of tampering »
- 37. offer in good faith
Examples
- « He gave her his word »
- 38. submit for consideration, judgment, or use
Examples
- « give one's opinion »
- « give an excuse »
- 39. guide or direct, as by behavior of persuasion
Examples
- « You gave me to think that you agreed with me »
- 40. allow to have or take
Examples
- « I give you two minutes to respond »
- 41. inflict as a punishment
Examples
- « She gave the boy a good spanking »
- « The judge gave me 10 years »
- 42. occur
Examples
- « what gives? »
- 43. consent to engage in sexual intercourse with a man
Examples
- « She gave herself to many men »
- 44. proffer (a body part)
Examples
- « She gave her hand to her little sister »
Noun
giveDefinitions
1. the elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length