give (gĭv)

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[Middle English given, from Old English giefan, Old Norse gefa.]

verb: gave (gāv), giv·en (gĭv́ən), giv·ing, gives. 

transitive verb 

1. To make a present of: We gave her flowers for her birthday.
2. To place in the hands of; pass: Give me the scissors.
3. 1. To deliver in exchange or recompense; pay: gave five dollars for the book.
   2. To let go for a price; sell: gave the used car away for two thousand dollars.
4. 1. To administer: give him some cough medicine.
   2. To convey by a physical action: gave me a punch in the nose.
   3. To inflict as punishment: gave the child a spanking; was given life imprisonment for the crime.
   4. Law To accord by verdict: A decision was given for the plaintiff.
5. 1. To bestow, especially officially; confer: The Bill of Rights gives us freedom of speech.
   2. To accord or tender to another: Give him your confidence.
   3. To put temporarily at the disposal of: gave them the cottage for a week.
   4. To entrust to another, usually for a specified reason: gave me the keys for safekeeping.
   5. To convey or offer for conveyance: Give him my best wishes.
   6. Law To execute and deliver. Used especially in the phrase give bond.
6. 1. To endure the loss of; sacrifice: gave her son to the war; gave her life for her country.
   2. To devote or apply completely: gives herself to her work.
   3. To furnish or contribute: gave their time to help others.
   4. To offer in good faith; pledge: Give me your word.
7. 1. To allot as a portion or share.
   2. To bestow (a name, for example).
   3. To attribute (blame, for example) to someone; assign.
   4. To award as due: gave us first prize.
8. To emit or utter: gave a groan; gave a muted response.
9. To submit for consideration, acceptance, or use: give an opinion; give an excuse.
10. 1. To proffer to another: gave the toddler my hand.
    2. To consent to engage (oneself) in sexual intercourse with a man.
11. 1. To perform for an audience: give a recital.
    2. To present to view: gave the sign to begin.
12. 1. To offer as entertainment: give a dinner party.
    2. To propose as a toast.
13. 1. To be a source of; afford: His remark gave offense. Music gives her pleasure.
    2. To cause to catch or be subject to (a disease or bodily condition): The draft gave me a cold.
    3. To guide or direct, as by persuasion or behavior. Used with an infinitive phrase: You gave me to imagine you approved of my report.
14. 1. To yield or produce: Cows give milk.
    2. To bring forth or bear: trees that give fruit.
    3. To produce as a result of calculation: 5 × 12 gives 60.
15. 1. To manifest or show: gives promise of brilliance; gave evidence of tampering.
    2. To carry out (a physical movement): give a wink; give a start.
16. To permit one to have or take: gave us an hour to finish.
17. To take an interest to the extent of: “My dear, I don't give a damn” (Margaret Mitchell)

intransitive verb 

1. To make gifts or donations: gives generously to charity.
2. 1. To yield to physical force.
   2. To collapse from force or pressure: The roof gave under the weight of the snow.
   3. To yield to change: Both sides will have to give on some issues.
3. To afford access or a view; open: The doors give onto a terrace.
4. Slang To be in progress; happen: What gives?

noun 

1. Capacity or inclination to yield under pressure.
2. The quality or condition of resilience; springiness: “Fruits that have some give … will have more juice than hard ones” (Elizabeth Schneider)

phrasal verbs

give away

To make a gift of.

To present (a bride) to the bridegroom at a wedding ceremony.

To reveal or make known, often accidentally. To betray.

give back

To return: gave me back my book.

give in

To hand in; submit: She gave in her report.

To cease opposition; yield.

give of

To devote or contribute: She really gave of her time to help. They give of themselves to improve the quality of education.

give off

To send forth; emit: chemical changes that give off energy.

give out

To allow to be known; declare publicly: gave out the bad news.

To send forth; emit: gave out a steady buzzing.

To distribute: gave out the surplus food.

To stop functioning; fail.

To become used up or exhausted; run out: Their determination finally gave out.

give over

To hand over; entrust.

To devote to a particular purpose or use: gave the day over to merrymaking. To surrender (oneself) completely; abandon: finally gave myself over to grief.

To cause an activity to stop: ordered the combatants to give over.

give up

To surrender: The suspects gave themselves up. To devote (oneself) completely: gave herself up to her work.

To cease to do or perform: gave up their search. To desist from; stop: gave up smoking.

To part with; relinquish: gave up the apartment; gave up all hope.

To lose hope for: We had given the dog up as lost. To lose hope of seeing: We'd given you up an hour ago.

To admit defeat.

To abandon what one is doing or planning to do: gave up on writing the novel.

idioms

give a good account of (oneself)

To behave or perform creditably.

give birth to

To bear as offspring. To be the origin of: a hobby that gave birth to a successful business.

give ground

To yield to a more powerful force; retreat.

give it to

To punish or reprimand severely: My parents really gave it to me for coming in late.

give or take

Plus or minus a small specified amount: The chalet is close to the road, give or take a few hundred yards.

give rise to

To be the cause or origin of; bring about.

give (someone) a hard time

To make life difficult for; harass. To make fun of; tease.

give (someone) the eye

To look at admiringly or invitingly.

give the lie to

To show to be inaccurate or untrue. To accuse of lying.

give up the ghost

To cease living or functioning; die.

give way

To retreat or withdraw. To yield the right of way: gave way to an oncoming car. To relinquish ascendancy or position: as day gives way slowly to night. To collapse from or as if from physical pressure: The ladder gave way. To yield to urging or demand; give in. To abandon oneself: give way to hysteria.