Dictionary
give
Pronunciation: (giv), [key]
—v., gave, giv•en, giv•ing,
—n.
—
v.t.
1. to present voluntarily and without expecting compensation; bestow:
to give a birthday present to someone.
2. to hand to someone:
Give me that plate, please.
3. to place in someone's care:
If you give me your coat, I'll put it in the closet.
4. to grant (permission, opportunity, etc.) to someone:
Give me a chance.
5. to impart or communicate:
to give advice; to give a cold to someone.
6. to set forth or show; present; offer:
He gave no reason for his lateness.
7. to pay or transfer possession to another in exchange for something:
They gave five dollars for the picture. He gave me the car for $800.
8. to furnish, provide, or proffer:
to give evidence; Let me give you my umbrella before you go out in this rain.
9. to provide as an entertainment or social function:
to give a New Year's Eve party.
10. to deal or administer:
to give a blow to someone; to give medicine to a patient.
11. to put forth, emit, or utter; issue:
to give a cry; to give a command.
12. to assign or admit as a basis of calculation or reasoning (usually used passively):
These facts being given, the argument makes sense.
13. to produce, yield, or afford:
to give good results; 9 × 8 gives 72; The hen gave six eggs a week.
14. to make, do, or perform:
to give a start; to give a lurch.
15. to perform or present publicly:
to give a play; to give a concert.
16. to cause; be responsible for (usually fol. by an infinitive):
They gave me to understand that you would be there.
17. to care about something to the value or extent of (something fanciful):
I don't give a hoot about his opinion.
18. to relinquish or sacrifice:
to give one's life for a cause.
19. to convey or transmit:
Give Aunt Betty my love.
20. to assign or allot:
Give every man a full ration of biscuits. They gave him the name of “Joseph.”
21. to bestow (the object of one's choice) upon, as if by providence:
Give me the wide open spaces anytime.
22. to be connected with, as by a telephone operator:
Give me 235-7522.
23. to present to an audience, as an entertainer, speaker, or act:
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the governor of Texas.
24. to attribute or ascribe:
to give the devil his due; After long study the critic gave the unsigned work to a minor impressionist.
25. to cause or occasion:
She gives me a pain in the neck.
26. to apply fully or freely:
He gives his free time to golf.
27. to award by verdict or after consideration:
A decision was given for the defendant.
28. to inflict as a punishment on another; punish by; impose a sentence of:
The judge gave him five years.
29. to pledge, offer as a pledge, or execute and deliver:
He gave her his promise. Can you give bond?
30. to propose as the subject of a toast (fol. by an indirect object):
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you our country.
31. to bear to a man; deliver (fol. by an indirect object):
She gave him a beautiful baby boy.
32. to sire upon a woman; father (fol. by an indirect object):
He gave her two children in the first five years of marriage.
33. to concede or grant, as a point in an argument.
—
v.i.
1. to make a gift or gifts; contribute:
to give to the United Way.
2. to yield somewhat, as to influence or force; compromise:
We can't negotiate until each side is willing to give on some points.
3. to yield somewhat when subjected to weight, force, pressure, etc.:
A horsehair mattress doesn't give much.
4. to collapse; break down; fall apart; fail:
The antique chair gave when I sat on it.
5. to be warm and open in relationships with other persons:
a withdrawn person who doesn't know how to give.
6. Informal.to divulge information:
Okay now, give! What happened?
7. to afford a view or passage; face, open, or lead (usually fol. by
on, onto, etc.):
The window gives on the sea. This door gives onto the hallway.
8. give and take,
a. to compromise in order to cooperate:
A willingness to give and take is important for success in marriage.
b. to exchange ideas:
an informal meeting in which there would be opportunities to give and take.
9. give away,
a. to give as a present; bestow.
b. to present (the bride) to the bridegroom in a marriage ceremony.
c. to expose or betray (a person).
d. to reveal (a confidence or secret, hidden motives, true feelings, etc.):
That remark gave away his real feelings.
10. give back, to return (something), as to its owner; restore:
You haven't given back the books you borrowed from me.
11. give battle. See
battle 1 (def. 6).
12. give birth to. See
birth (def. 8).
13. give ground, to yield before superior force, as of arms or of reasoning.
14. give in,
a. to acknowledge defeat; yield.
b. to hand in; deliver:
Please give in your timecards.
15. give it to, Informal.to reprimand or punish:
His father really gave it to him for coming home so late.
16. give of, to devote or contribute generously of:
to give of oneself; to give of one's abundance.
17. give off, to put forth; emit:
The gardenia gives off a very strong fragrance.
18. give or take, plus or minus a specified amount; more or less:
It will cost $20, give or take a dollar or two.
19. give out,
a. to send out; emit.
b. to make public; announce.
c. to distribute; issue.
d. to become exhausted.
e. to become used up; fail:
The fuel gave out.
f. to do or express something, esp. unrestrainedly or easily:
to give out with a song.
20. give over,
a. to put into the care of; transfer:
She gave over all her property to her daughter.
b. to put an end to; stop:
They will never give over their impossible dreams.
c. to indulge in without restraint:
She gave herself over to tears.
d. to devote to a specified activity:
The day was given over to relaxing in the sun.
21. give rise to. See
rise (def. 55).
22. give up,
a. to abandon hope; despair.
b. to desist from; renounce:
to give up smoking.
c. to surrender; relinquish.
d. to devote (oneself) entirely to:
She gave herself up to her job and seldom saw her old friends.
e. South Midland U.S.to consider; deem:
She's given up to be the kindest woman around here.
23. give way. See
way (def. 26).
—
n.
the quality or state of being resilient; springiness.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
