ɡɪv v. & n. --v. (past
gave;
past part. given) 1 tr. (also absol.;
often foll. by to)
transfer the possession of freely;
hand over as a present (gave
them her old curtains; gives to
cancer research). 2 tr. a transfer the ownership of
with or
without actual delivery;
bequeath (gave
him ø200 in her will). b transfer,
esp. temporarily or
for safe keeping; hand over;
provide with (gave him the
dog to hold; gave them a drink). c
administer (medicine). d
deliver (a message) (give her my
best wishes). 3 tr. (usu. foll. by for)
make over in
exchange or
payment; pay;
sell (gave him ø30 for the bicycle). 4 tr. a
confer;
grant (a
benefit, an
honour, etc.). b
accord;
bestow (one's affections,
confidence, etc.). c
award; administer (one's
approval,
blame, etc.); tell,
offer (esp.
something unpleasant) (gave him a talking-to; gave him my
blessing; gave him the sack). d
pledge,
assign as a
guarantee (gave
his word). 5 tr. a
effect or
perform (an
action etc.) (gave him a
kiss; gave a jump). b utter (gave a shriek). 6 tr.
allot; assign; grant (was
given the contract). 7 tr. (in
passive; foll. by to) be inclined to or
fond of (is given to speculation). 8 tr.
yield as a
product or
result (the
lamp gives a
bad light; the
field gives
fodder for
twenty cows). 9 intr. a yield to
pressure;
become relaxed;
lose firmness (this
elastic doesn't give properly). b
collapse (the
roof gave
under the pressure). 10 intr. (usu. foll. by of) grant; bestow (gave freely of his time). 11 tr. a
commit,
consign, or
entrust (gave him
into custody; give her into
your care). b
sanction the
marriage of (a
daughter etc.). 12 tr.
devote;
dedicate (gave his
life to
table tennis;
shall give it my attention). 13 tr. (usu. absol.) colloq. tell
what one knows (What happened?
Come on, give!). 14 tr. present; offer;
show; hold
out (gives no
sign of life; gave her his arm; give him your ear). 15 tr. Theatr.
read,
recite, perform,
act, etc. (gave them Hamlet's soliloquy). 16 tr.
impart; be a
source of (gave him my
sore throat; gave
its name to the
battle; gave me
much pain; gives him a
right to complain). 17 tr.
allow (esp. a fixed
amount of time) (can give
you five minutes). 18 tr. (usu. foll. by for)
value (something) (gives
nothing for
their opinions). 19 tr.
concede; yield (I give you the victory). 20 tr. deliver (a
judgement etc.) authoritatively (gave his verdict). 21 tr. Cricket (of an umpire)
declare (a batsman) out or
not out. 22 tr.
toast (a
person,
cause, etc.) (I give you
our President). 23 tr. provide (a party, meal, etc.) as host (gave a banquet). --n. 1
capacity to yield or bend under pressure; elasticity (there is no give in a
stone floor). 2
ability to
adapt or
comply (no give in his attitudes). øgive
and take v.tr. exchange (words, blows, or concessions). --n. an exchange of words
etc.; a
compromise. give as
good as one gets retort adequately in words or blows. give
away 1 transfer as a
gift. 2 hand over (a bride) ceremonially to a
bridegroom. 3
betray or
expose to
ridicule or
detection. 4
Austral.
abandon,
desist from, give
up, lose
faith or
interest in. give-away n. colloq. 1 an
inadvertent betrayal or
revelation. 2 an act of giving away. 3 a
free gift; a low
price. give
back return (something) to its
previous owner or in exchange. give a person the best see BEST. give
birth (to) see BIRTH. give chase
pursue a person,
animal, etc.;
hunt. give down (often absol.) (of a cow) let (milk)
flow. give
forth emit;
publish;
report. give the game (or show) away reveal a
secret or
intention. give a hand see HAND. give a person (or the devil) his or her
due acknowledge, esp. grudgingly, a person's rights, abilities, etc. give in 1
cease fighting or arguing; yield. 2 hand in (a
document etc.) to an
official etc. give in marriage sanction the marriage of (one's daughter etc.). give it to a person colloq.
scold or
punish. give me I
prefer or
admire (give me the
Greek islands). give
off emit (vapour etc.). give
oneself (of a woman) yield sexually. give oneself airs act pretentiously or snobbishly. give oneself up to 1 abandon oneself to an
emotion, esp.
despair. 2
addict oneself
to. give on to (or into) (of a
window,
corridor, etc.)
overlook or lead into. give or take colloq.
add or
subtract (a specified amount or number) in estimating. give out 1
announce; emit;
distribute. 2 cease or break down from
exhaustion etc. 3
run short. give over 1 colloq. cease from
doing; abandon (a
habit etc.); desist (give over sniffing). 2 hand over. 3 devote. give
rise to cause,
induce,
suggest. give
tongue 1
speak one's thoughts. 2 (of hounds) bark, esp. on
finding a
scent. give a person to
understand inform authoritatively. give up 1
resign;
surrender. 2 part with. 3 deliver (a wanted person etc.). 4
pronounce incurable or
insoluble;
renounce hope of. 5 renounce or cease (an activity). give up the
ghost archaic or colloq. die. give
way see WAY. give a person what for colloq. punish or scold severely. give one's
word (or word of honour)
promise solemnly. not give a
damn (or monkey's or
toss etc.) colloq. not
care at
all. what gives? colloq. what is the news?; what's happening?
would give the
world (or one's ears, eyes, etc.) for
covet or
wish for desperately. øøgiveable adj. giver n. [OE g(i)efan f. Gmc]