"give" Definition

To bestow without receiving a return; to confer without compensation; to impart, as a possession; to grant, as authority or permission; to yield up or allow.

To yield possesion of; to deliver over, as property, in exchange for something; to pay; as, we give the value of what we buy.

To yield; to furnish; to produce; to emit; as, flint and steel give sparks.

To communicate or announce, as advice, tidings, etc.; to pronounce; to render or utter, as an opinion, a judgment, a sentence, a shout, etc.

To grant power or license to; to permit; to allow; to license; to commission.

To exhibit as a product or result; to produce; to show; as, the number of men, divided by the number of ships, gives four hundred to each ship.

To devote; to apply; used reflexively, to devote or apply one's self; as, the soldiers give themselves to plunder; also in this sense used very frequently in the past participle; as, the people are given to luxury and pleasure; the youth is given to study.

To set forth as a known quantity or a known relation, or as a premise from which to reason; -- used principally in the passive form given.

To allow or admit by way of supposition.

To attribute; to assign; to adjudge.

To excite or cause to exist, as a sensation; as, to give offense; to give pleasure or pain.

To pledge; as, to give one's word.

To cause; to make; -- with the infinitive; as, to give one to understand, to know, etc.

To give a gift or gifts.

To yield to force or pressure; to relax; to become less rigid; as, the earth gives under the feet.

To become soft or moist.

To move; to recede.

To shed tears; to weep.

To have a misgiving.

To open; to lead.

(-ving; past gave; past part. Given) 1 transfer the possession of freely; hand over as a present; donate. 2 a transfer temporarily; provide with (gave him the dog to hold; gave her a new hip). B administer (medicine). C deliver (a message). 3 (usu. Foll. By for) make over in exchange or payment. 4 a confer; grant (a benefit, honour, etc.). B accord; bestow (love, time, etc.). C pledge (gave his word). 5 a perform (an action etc.) (gave a jump; gave a performance; gave an interview). B utter; declare (gave a shriek; gave the batsman out). 6 (in passive; foll. By to) be inclined to or fond of (is given to boasting; is given to strong drink). 7 yield to pressure; collapse. 8 yield as a product or result (gives an average of 7). 9 a consign, put (gave him into custody). B sanction the marriage of (a daughter etc.). 10 devote; dedicate (gave his life to the cause). 11 present; offer; show; hold out (gives no sign of life; gave her his arm; give me an example). 12 impart; be a source of; cause (gave me a cold; gave me trouble; gave much pain). 13 concede (i give you the benefit of the doubt). 14 deliver (a judgement etc.) Authoritatively. 15 provide (a party, meal, etc.) As host. 16 (in past part.) Assume or grant or specify (given the circumstances; in a given situation; given that we earn so little). 17 (absol.) Colloq. Tell what one knows. n. Capacity to yield or comply; elasticity. give and take 1 exchange of words, ideas, blows, etc. 2 ability to compromise. Give away 1 transfer as a gift. 2 hand over (a bride) to a bridegroom. 3 reveal (a secret etc.). Give the game (or show) away reveal a secret or intention. Give in 1 yield; acknowledge defeat. 2 hand in (a document etc.) To an official etc. Give it to a person colloq. Scold or punish. Give me i prefer (give me greece any day). Give off emit (fumes etc.). Give oneself up to 1 abandon oneself to (despair etc.). 2 addict oneself to. Give on to (or into) (of a window, corridor, etc.) Overlook or lead into. Give or take colloq. Accepting as a margin of error in estimating. Give out 1 announce; emit; distribute. 2 be exhausted. 3 run short. Give over 1 colloq. Stop or desist. 2 hand over. 3 devote. Give rise to cause. Give a person to understand inform or assure. Give up 1 resign; surrender. 2 part with.

to strike, to scold; “I’ll GIVE it to you,” _i.e._, I will thrash you. To lead to, in the sense of directions. Thus, in one of the Christmas numbers of _All the Year Round_ we are told that “a side portal and a passage, dark at noon, GAVE upon Paradise Alley.” This usage of the word, from the French idiomatic use of _donner_, is becoming by no means uncommon.