give up

verb

gave up; given up; giving up; gives up

transitive verb

1

: to yield control or possession of : surrender

forced to give up his job

2

: to desist from : abandon

refused to give up her efforts

3

: to declare incurable or insoluble

4

a

: to abandon (oneself) to a particular feeling, influence, or activity

gave himself up to despair

b

: to devote to a particular purpose or use

5

: to despair of seeing

we'd given you up

6

: to allow (a hit or run in baseball) while pitching

intransitive verb

: to cease doing or attempting something especially as an admission of defeat : quit

—often used with on

don't give up on the project

Phrases

give up the ghost

: to cease to live or function : die

Synonyms

• cede
• cough up
• deliver
• hand over
• lay down
• relinquish
• render
• surrender
• turn in
• turn over
• yield

Examples of give up in a Sentence

was in so much debt he had to give up his house and move into a cheaper apartment

I hope you won't give up playing the piano.

Recent Examples on the Web

Uber will then select 30 people from each city to give up their cars during those five weeks. —Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 27 June 2024

The Royals gave up an arm to solidify their relief corps. —Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 27 June 2024

Without giving up All-Star forward Julius Randle, the Knicks acquired Bridges in a pre-draft deal with the Nets, surrendering hefty draft pick compensation plus veteran forward Bojan Bogdanovic in a trade that moves the Knicks closer to competing with the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics. —Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 26 June 2024

Miller gave up five runs and four hits in 1 ⅔ innings against the Cubs in Wrigley Field on April 5. —Mike Digiovanna, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

give up

verb

1

: surrender entry 1 sense 1

2

: to abandon (oneself) to a feeling, influence, or activity

3

: stop entry 1 sense 7a