Etimology
From Middle English given, from Old Norse gefa (“to give”), from Proto-Germanic *gebaną (“to give”). Merged with native Middle English yiven, ȝeven, from Old English ġiefan, from the same Proto-Germanic source (compare the obsolete inherited English doublet yive).
verb
give (third-person singular simple present gives, present participle giving, simple past gave, past participle given)
(ditransitive) To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere.
(transitive) To provide, as, a service or a broadcast.
(ditransitive) To estimate or predict (a duration or probability) for (something).
(intransitive) To yield or collapse under pressure or force.
(intransitive) To lead (onto or into).
(transitive, dated) To provide a view of.
To exhibit as a product or result; to produce; to yield.
To cause; to make; used with the infinitive.
To cause (someone) to have; produce in (someone); effectuate.
To allow or admit by way of supposition; to concede.
To attribute; to assign; to adjudge.
To communicate or announce (advice, tidings, etc.); to pronounce or utter (an opinion, a judgment, a shout, etc.).
(dated or religion) To grant power, permission, destiny, etc. (especially to a person); to allot; to allow.
(reflexive) To devote or apply (oneself).
(obsolete) To become soft or moist.
(obsolete) To shed tears; to weep.
(obsolete) To have a misgiving.
(slang, transitive) To give off (a certain vibe or appearance). [2021?–]
(Can we verify(+) this sense?) (slang, intransitive) To exceed expectations. [2022?–]
Examples
Synonyms: see Thesaurus:give
Antonyms: get, obtain, receive, take
I gave him my coat.
I gave my coat to the beggar.
When they asked, I gave my coat.
I'm going to give my wife a necklace for her birthday.
She gave a pair of shoes to her husband for their anniversary.
I gave him my word that I'd protect his children.
I gave them permission to miss tomorrow's class.
Please give me some more time.
It gives me a lot of pleasure to be here tonight.
The fence gave me an electric shock.
My mother-in-law gives me nothing but grief.
It's giving me bad vibes.
[subtitle:] It's giving Wednesday Addams at the salon...
"The outfit is giving me eighties fitness video vibes, but you wear it well."
I want to give you a kiss.
She gave him a hug.
I'd like to give the tire a kick.
I gave the boy a push on the swing.
She gave me a wink afterwards, so I knew she was joking.
Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps, with something of the stately pose which Richter has given his Queen Louise on the stairway, […] .
Give me your hand.
On entering the house, he gave his coat to the doorman.
My boyfriend gave me chlamydia.
He was convinced that it was his alcoholism that gave him cancer.
Study gives strength to the mind; conversation, grace: the first apt to give stiffness, the other suppleness: one gives substance and form to the statue, the other polishes it.
The doctors gave me morphine for the pain.
They're giving my favorite show!
We hope that the need to "give good e-mail" in response to questions from clients and potential clients will in fact induce firms to get serious about storing and reusing their expertise – and even become open to tailoring […]
[…] who did not have a culture in which 'giving good presentation' and successfully playing the internal political game was the way up.
A friendly voice on the phone welcoming prospective new clients is a must. Don't underestimate the importance of giving good "phone".
Social skills are required to meet new people in a chat room and maintain contact over time . The Internet provides people with an opportunity to reinvent or misrepresent themselves.
He gives good face too, posing for the camera with hands on waist, eyes forward, legs crossed .
I give it ten minutes before he gives up.
I'd give it a 95% chance of success.
I'll give their marriage six months.
Synonyms: give way, bend, cede, flex, move, yield
Antonym: resist
A soldier noticed how earth "gave" as he walked over the shallow trenches.
One pillar gave, then more, and suddenly the whole floor pancaked onto the floor below.
The master bedroom gives onto a spacious balcony.
Beyond the stile stands an attractive row of riverside trees – alder, hazel, beech, hawthorn and ash. Go across to the far corner of a field, where a through-stile gives onto a small, lightly wooded hill, […]
His window gave the park.
Columbus dwellers of Woodland Meadow Apts may not find themselves in a perfectly bucolic setting, as the residential complex gives onto a military defense logistics ground.
The number of men, divided by the number of ships, gives four hundred to each ship.
But there the duke was given to understand / That in a gondola were seen together / Lorenzo and his amorous Jessica.
"Can do" gives me a choice, while "should do" gives me a complex.
Synonyms: allow, concede, grant
He can be bad-tempered, I'll give you that, but he's a hard worker.
I give not heaven for lost.
I don't wonder at people giving him to me for a lover.
The umpire finally gave his decision: the ball was out.
These are the statutes and judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the Lᴏʀᴅ God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth.
once again'Tis given me to behold my friend.
Then give thy friend to shed the sacred wine.
The soldiers give themselves to plunder.
That boy is given to fits of bad temper.
Some moyst weather hath‥caused the powder to give and danke.
Whose eyes do never give / But through lust and laughter.
My mind gives ye're reserv'd / To rob poor market women.
It's giving old Hollywood
Your outfit is giving more romance than bloodshed. Are you currently in love?
This outfit gives 'college girl that knows what she's doing' and even though I am the furthest from that, I'll take it.
Your outfit is giving!
There were lots of statement nail moments at the 2022 MTV VMA‘s, and Latto‘s metallic french tip manicure was one of them. [see title]
Next, the TikTok user showed her followers the $15 solid scoop neck tank dress in mocha brown. / "This one is giving. I love this, this is so cute. I think my body shape looks really cute in it," she told her followers.
The fashion influencer also posts content showing off her corporate looks, demonstrating how she can be professional and stylish. / In the comments, people seemed less concerned with her outfit than her hair styling. / "Okay but the fringe is giving," wrote one person.
noun
give (uncountable)
The amount of bending that something undergoes when a force is applied to it; a tendency to yield under pressure; resilience.
Examples
This chair doesn't have much give.
There is no give in his dogmatic religious beliefs.
The striker's job was onerous, too, because there was so little "give" in the metal, and the perpetual jarring was indeed trying to the muscles.
noun
give (plural gives)
Alternative form of gyve