From Middle English given, from Old Norse gefa, from Proto-Germanic *gebaną.

• enPR: gĭv, IPA: /ɡɪv/

give (gives, present participle giving; simple past gave, past participle given)

1. (ditransitive) To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere.
   1. To transfer one's possession or holding of (something) to (someone).

      Synonyms: 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.

   2. To make a present or gift of.

      I'm going to give my wife a necklace for her birthday.

      She gave a pair of shoes to her husband for their anniversary.

   3. To pledge.

      I gave him my word that I'd protect his children.

   4. To provide (something) to (someone), to allow or afford.

      I gave them permission to miss tomorrow's class.

      Please give me some more time.

   5. To cause (a sensation or feeling) to exist in (the specified person, or the target, audience, etc).

      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 — It's giving me old Hollywood (vibes)

   6. (slang, transitive) To give off (a certain vibe or appearance). [2019?–] (Compare giving.)

      it's giving old Hollywood (vibes)

      • 2023 June 12, Wilson Wong, “Gov Ball Raves on in Pink, Amid Rain and Smoke”, in The New York Times‎, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN ↗, →OCLC ↗, archived from the original ↗ on 12 June 2023:

        Your outfit is giving more romance than bloodshed. Are you currently in love?

   7. To carry out (a physical interaction) with (something).

      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.

      • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC ↗, page 68 ↗:

        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, […] .

   8. To pass (something) into (someone's hand, etc.).

      Give me your hand.

      On entering the house, he gave his coat to the doorman.

   9. To cause (a disease or condition) in, or to transmit (a disease or condition) to.

      My boyfriend gave me chlamydia.

      He was convinced that it was his alcoholism that gave him cancer.

      • a. 1700 (date written), William Temple, “Heads, Designed for an Essay on Conversation”, in Miscellanea. The Third Part. […], London: […] Jonathan Swift, […] Benjamin Tooke, […], published 1701, →OCLC ↗, page 331 ↗:

        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.

   10. To provide or administer (a medication)

       The doctors gave me morphine for the pain.

2. (transitive) To provide, as, a service or a broadcast.

   They're giving my favorite show!

   • 2003, Iain Aitken, Value-Driven IT Management: Commercializing the IT Function, page 153:

     […] who did not have a culture in which 'giving good presentation' and successfully playing the internal political game was the way up.

   • 2006, Christopher Matthew Spencer, The Ebay Entrepreneur, page 248:

     A friendly voice on the phone welcoming prospective new clients is a must. Don't underestimate the importance of giving good "phone".

3. (ditransitive) To estimate or predict (a duration or probability) for (something).

   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.

4. (intransitive) To yield or collapse under pressure or force.

   Synonyms: give way, bend, cede, flex, move, yield

   Antonyms: resist

   One pillar gave, then more, and suddenly the whole floor pancaked onto the floor below.

5. (intransitive) To lead (onto or into).

   The master bedroom gives onto a spacious balcony.

6. (transitive, dated) To provide a view of.

   His window gave the park.

7. To exhibit as a product or result; to produce; to yield.

   The number of men, divided by the number of ships, gives four hundred to each ship.

8. To cause; to make; used with the infinitive.
   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act II, scene viii], page 171 ↗:

     But there the duke was given to understand / That in a gondola were seen together / Lorenzo and his amorous Jessica.

9. To cause (someone) to have; produce in (someone); effectuate.
   • 1997, Jim Smoke, How a Man Measures Success, page 82:

     "Can do" gives me a choice, while "should do" gives me a complex.

10. To allow or admit by way of supposition; to concede.

    Synonyms: allow, concede, grant

    He can be bad-tempered, I'll give you that, but he's a hard worker.

    • 1667, John Milton, “Book II ↗”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC ↗; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC ↗:

      I give not heaven for lost.

11. To attribute; to assign; to adjudge.
12. To communicate or announce (advice, tidings, etc.); to pronounce or utter (an opinion, a judgment, a shout, etc.).

    The umpire finally gave his decision: the ball was out.

13. (dated or religion) To grant power, permission, destiny, etc. (especially to a person); to allot; to allow.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC ↗, Deuteronomy 12:1 ↗:

      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.

    • 1725, Homer, “Book III”, in [Alexander Pope], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume I, London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC ↗:

      Then give thy friend to shed the sacred wine.

14. (reflexive) To devote or apply (oneself).

    The soldiers give themselves to plunder.

    That boy is given to fits of bad temper.

15. (obsolete) To become soft or moist.
16. (obsolete) To shed tears; to weep.
    • c. 1605–1608, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act IV, scene iii], page 94 ↗:

      Whose eyes do never give / But through lust and laughter.

17. (obsolete) To have a misgiving.
    • c. 1608-1634, John Webster, Appius and Virginia, page 16 ↗

      My mind gives ye're reserv'd / To rob poor market women.

• French: donner, bailler
• German: geben, abgeben
• Italian: dare
• Portuguese: dar
• Russian: дава́ть
• Spanish: dar, entregar, donar, diñar

• German: nachgeben
• Russian: поддава́ться

give (uncountable)

1. The amount of bending that something undergoes when a force is applied to it; a tendency to yield under pressure; resilience.

   This chair doesn't have much give.

   There is no give in his dogmatic religious beliefs.

• German: Dehnbarkeit

give (plural gives)

1. Alternative form of gyve