give over

verb

gave over; given over; giving over; gives over

transitive verb

1

: cease

2

: entrust

3

a

: to yield without restraint or control : abandon

gave themselves over to laughter

b

: to set apart for a particular purpose or use

4

archaic : to pronounce incurable

intransitive verb

British : to cease an activity : stop

told him to give over and let me alone

—Brendan Behan

Synonyms

• break
• break off
• break up
• can [slang]
• cease
• cut off
• cut out
• desist (from)
• discontinue
• drop
• end
• halt
• knock off
• lay off
• leave off
• pack (up or in)
• quit
• shut off
• stop

Examples of give over in a Sentence

his wife suggested that he give over working such long hours if it was making him so unhappy

gave over his entire savings to an investor

Recent Examples on the Web

Baltimore City has given over $500,000 in taxpayer dollars to Fusion Partnerships over the past two years, according to the Baltimore City Board of Estimates website. —Patrick Hauf, Baltimore Sun, 11 Dec. 2024

What advantage does rocket armament gives over other weapons? —David Hambling, Forbes, 25 Sep. 2024

The Metro Nashville Police Department said in a news release that four men approached two other men in an apartment complex and demanded the two men give over their belongings around 12:10 a.m. —Liam Adams, The Tennessean, 1 Sep. 2024

Harry is not the only claimant, former Labour Party deputy leader Tom Watson is also suing, and there will be separate portions given over to each of their specific cases. —Stephan Pechdimaldji, Newsweek, 14 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1