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

Two things needed to happen to get Daniel to federal prison: the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation needed to give up primary jurisdiction of him and the federal Bureau of Prisons needed to agree to take him in. —Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 16 Nov. 2024

What’s the cost-benefit argument for giving up on writing, an important and useful traditional skill? —Nir Eisikovits, Discover Magazine, 14 Nov. 2024

The Rams gave up two touchdown passes in the final minute of the first half, right tackle Rob Havenstein left the game because of an injury, the Seahawks blocked a punt and the Rams converted only three of 13 third downs. —Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2024

Andrew Greif Both Indianapolis and Minnesota rank in the league’s bottom third defensively in allowing rushing yards, with the Colts giving up an average of 227 yards, and the Vikings 263, which is the NFL’s third-worst average. —Andrew Greif, NBC News, 4 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

12th 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