Meaning of give in English

give

verb

/ɡɪv/ uk

/ɡɪv/

gave | given

give verb (PROVIDE)

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A1 [ I or T ]

to offer something to someone, or to provide someone with something:

[ + two objects ] She gave us a set of saucepans as a wedding present.

Can you give me a date for another appointment?

They never gave me a chance/choice.

Has the director given you permission to do that?

[ + adv/prep ] We always try to give to charity.

We're collecting for the children's home - please give generously.

give (out) something to someone The police gave (out) road-safety booklets to the children (= gave them to all the children).

give (up) your seat Please give (up) your seat to an elderly or disabled person if they need it.

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

to accommodate someone

accommodateThere aren’t enough rooms to accommodate all the students.
give accommodation toThe university gives free accommodation to nursing students.
provide accommodation toWe only provide accommodation to first-year students.
lodgeStudents will be lodged with host families.
houseThe base can house up to 2,000 soldiers.
put someone upI can put you up for a couple of nights.

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Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

to give something to someone

giveGive me that dirty plate.
offerYour doctor should be able to offer advice.
provideThis booklet provides useful information about local services.
supplyThe lake supplies the whole town with water.
donateFour hundred dollars has been donated to the school book fund.

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B1 [ T ]

to pay someone a particular amount:

I gave the taxi driver $20 and told him to keep the change.

give of your money, time, etc. formal

to give your money, time, or best efforts, especially in a way that seems generous:

We're very grateful to all the people who have given of their time.

give (something) your all old-fashioned (US also give (something)your best)

to put a lot of effort into doing something:

We must be finished by tonight, so I want you to give it your all.

A2 [ T ]

to tell someone something:

give something out The winner's name was given (out)/They gave the winner's name (out) on the news.

[ + two objects ] Can you give Jo a message for me?

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

to tell someone something

tellMy friend told me you were looking for me.
let someone knowLet me know if you'd like to come.
giveCan you give the message to Jo?
communicateA 60-second TV commercial isn't always the best way to communicate a complex medical message.
informThe relatives of the injured have been informed of the accident.
notifyThe school has to notify parents if their children do not arrive at school.

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[ T ]

to punish someone by sending them to prison for a particular period:

[ + two objects ] If you're found guilty, they'll give you three years.

B1 [ T ]

to allow a person or activity a particular amount of time:

[ + two objects ] I'm almost ready - just give me a couple of minutes.

[ T ] informal

to calculate that something will last a particular amount of time:

[ + two objects ] Look at that old car she bought - I give it two weeks before it breaks down.

More examplesFewer examples

Can you give any evidence to support your claim?
I'm never going to guess the answer if you don't give me a clue.
The letters that people wrote after his death gave me a lot of comfort.
A loving family environment gives children that sense of stability and permanence which they need.
I'm a bit wary of/about giving people my address when I don't know them very well.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Giving, providing and supplying

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Paying money

Announcing, informing & stating

Putting people in prison

Allowing and permitting

Predicting things and intuition

give verb (CAUSE)

B1 [ T ]

to produce or cause something:

[ + two objects ] The fresh air gave us an appetite (= made us hungry).

What you said has given me an idea.

give (out) The alarm gave (out) a high-pitched sound.

give someone to understand (that) formal (also give someone to believe (that))

to tell someone something or cause someone to think that something is true:

I was given to understand she was staying at this hotel.

give it to be understood (that) formal old-fashioned (also give it to be believed (that))

to tell someone something or cause someone to think that something is true:

Upon quitting home, she gave it to be understood that she was about to visit her aunt in the Rue des Drômes.

He even gave it to be understood that there has been some kind of massacre.

I did not say, as you gave it to be believed, that the gentleman was to blame.

Compare

give someone to understand (that) formal

More examplesFewer examples

The photocopier is giving me all sorts of problems.
The noise and heat of the office was giving him a headache.
The success of the team gave the manager great satisfaction.
The teacher's comments gave her confidence.
The red carpet gave the ceremony a real sense of occasion.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Creating and producing

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Defining & explaining

give verb (DO)

A2 [ T ]

to perform an action:

[ + two objects ] She gave me a smile/strange look.

give something a push They had to give the car a push to start it.

give someone a call/ring Give me a call/ring (= phone me) when you get back from vacation.

Who is giving the speech/lecture/concert?

A2 [ T ]

to organize a party, meal, etc.:

They're always giving parties.

The ambassador is giving a banquet for the visiting president.

give something a go

to attempt something:

Only a few people are successful as professional athletes, but it's worth giving it a go.

[ T + two objects ] formal

to say publicly that everyone present at a formal occasion, especially a meal, should drink a toast to someone (= have a drink in honor of someone):

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the president!

More examplesFewer examples

To celebrate his birthday, Tony gave a party.
The producer gave a party to thank all the people who had helped in the making of the film.
She gave a sigh of relief as the car came to a stop.
Just give the ends a trim, please.
If you don't give it a go, you'll never know what you could have achieved.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Acting and acts

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Managing and organizing

Drinking alcohol

give verb (STRETCH)

[ I ]

If something gives, it stretches, bends, or breaks, or becomes less firm or tight, under pressure:

give under/with The rope gave under/with the weight of the load.

The shoes will give a little after you've worn them once or twice.

figurative You can't work so hard all the time - something will have to give (= change).

give (out) figurative Suddenly her patience gave (out) and she shouted angrily at the children.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Becoming bigger

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give verb (DECIDE)

[ T + obj + adj ] UK

in some sports, to decide and state officially that a player or the ball is in a particular condition or place:

The umpire gave the batsman out.

The ball was clearly out, but the line judge gave it in.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Announcing, informing & stating

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Idioms

don't give me that!
give as good as you get
give or take
give me ... any day/every time!
give way
give someone what for
given the chance/choice
what I wouldn't give for something
I would give anything/a lot

Phrasal verbs

give something away
give someone away
give something back
give in
give something in
give something off
give onto something
give out
give something out
give over

More phrasal verbs

give something over to something/someone
give yourself over/up to something
give up
give up something
give up (something)
give (something) up
give something up
give someone up
give yourself up
give up on someone/something

give

noun [ U ]

/ɡɪv/ uk

/ɡɪv/

the quality of stretching, bending, or breaking, or becoming less firm or tight, under pressure:

A sweater knitted in pure cotton doesn't have much give (= will not stretch much).

Compare

bounce noun (MOVEMENT)

spring noun (CURVED METAL)

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Flexible, loose and yielding

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(Definition of give from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

give | Intermediate English

give

verb

/ɡɪv/

present participle giving | past tense gave | past participle given

give verb (OFFER)

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[ T ]

to offer something of your own to another person or thing, or to allow something you own or control to be owned or used by another:

We’re collecting for the Red Cross – please give what you can.

We’re giving Helen a salad bowl/We’re giving a salad bowl to Helen as a wedding present.

Give me back my book/Give my book back (= Return my book).

Give her enough time (= Allow her to have enough time) to finish the exam.

give verb (PRODUCE)

[ T ]

to produce or cause something:

He gave me a hard push.

Give me a phone call when you get home.

The president is giving a speech tonight.

The fresh air gave us an appetite (= made us hungry).

We’re giving a birthday party for Kareem.

He gave me the impression (= He made me think) that the deal would go through.

This car has given (= caused) me lots of trouble ever since I got it.

give verb (STRETCH)

[ I ]

to stretch or become looser:

New shoes will give a little after you’ve worn them a few times.

fig. The negotiations are completely deadlocked, and neither side will give an inch (= each refuses to change its position even a little).

give

noun [ U ] us

/ɡɪv/

A cotton sweater doesn’t have much give.

Idioms

give someone a break
give someone a heads up
give a hoot
give someone a piece of your mind
give someone a run for his or her money
give something a whirl
give someone hell
give or take
give rise to something
give someone the benefit of the doubt

More idioms

give someone the cold shoulder
give way
give way to something
not give someone the time of day
someone would give anything for something
someone would give someone the shirt off his or her back

Phrasal verbs

give away something
give away something
give in
give off something
give out
give out something
give up (something)
give up on something/someone

(Definition of give from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

give | Business English

give

verb [ I or T ]

/ɡɪv/ us

past tense gave | past participle given

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to offer something to someone or provide them with it, especially without asking for any payment:

give sb sth Can you give me a date for another appointment?

give sth to sb We gave over 200 free copies of the software to a local educational institution.

to pay a particular amount of money to someone for something:

give sth for sth What would you give for this painting?

There are people starving as a result of the disaster, so please give generously.

to allow a person or activity a particular amount of time:

You should give at least two days for writing the report.

give sb a moment/minute/second I'm nearly finished - just give me a moment.

Phrasal verbs

give sth away
give in (to sth)
give up

(Definition of give from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of give

give

I'm going to give you a little quiz first.

From NPR

We didn't have to give it to them.

From New York Daily News

You have all but given the criminals the blind eye and the public is paying for it.

From CBS Local

The least you can do is give them a friendly nod on your way past.

From The Seattle Times

This might give the impression of an indecent woman.

From Phys.Org

They were supposed to be given the right to seek asylum.

From Voice of America

In a way, tours are my way of giving back to the university that changed me for the better.

From Minneapolis Star Tribune

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of give?