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give

When you give something, you hand over possession to someone else. Give can also be a noun; a material that has give has the ability to stretch.

Just as you can take many things, so can you give many things. You can give a gift, give a party, or give your car keys to friend, but just temporarily. If you give someone a chance, you let them have an opportunity. If you give your word, you make a promise. If give your hand, you marry — or at least hold hands. You can also give by communicating or passing something on — like your regards, or a cold.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: give

1	v	transfer possession of something concrete or abstract to somebody
2	v	manifest or show
3	v	dedicate
4	v n	be flexible under stress of physical force the elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length
5	v	estimate the duration or outcome of something
6	v	guide or direct, as by behavior of persuasion
7	v	occur

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: give

v transfer possession of something concrete or abstract to somebody

“I gave her my money”

“can you give me lessons?”

“She gave the children lots of love and tender loving care”

Antonyms:: take
take into one's possession

Types:: show 185 types...; hide 185 types...; cater, ply, provide, supply
give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance; cough up, pony up, spit up
give reluctantly; lease, let, rent
grant use or occupation of under a term of contract; support
support materially or financially; pay
give money, usually in exchange for goods or services; accord, allot, grant
allow to have; allow, grant
let have; present, submit
hand over formally; bestow
give as a gift; heap
bestow in large quantities; administer, allot, deal, deal out, dish out, dispense, distribute, dole out, lot, mete out, parcel out, shell out
administer or bestow, as in small portions; offer, proffer
present for acceptance or rejection; chip in, contribute, kick in
contribute to some cause; render, return
give back; bank, deposit
put into a bank account; cede, concede, grant, yield
give over; surrender or relinquish to the physical control of another; lend, loan
give temporarily; let have for a limited time; furnish, provide, render, supply
give something useful or necessary to; repay, requite
make repayment for or return something; dispense with, give up, part with, spare
give up what is not strictly needed; vest
place (authority, property, or rights) in the control of a person or group of persons; enfeoff
put in possession of land in exchange for a pledge of service, in feudal society; hydrate
supply water or liquid to in order to maintain a healthy balance; charge
energize a battery by passing a current through it in the direction opposite to discharge; date
provide with a dateline; mark with a date; staff
provide with staff; drench
force to drink; regale, treat
provide with choice or abundant food or drink; board
provide food and lodging (for); feed
give food to; feed
serve as food for; be the food for; dish, dish out, dish up, serve, serve up
provide (usually but not necessarily food); cater
supply food ready to eat; for parties and banquets; pander, pimp, procure
arrange for sexual partners for others; feed
feed into; supply; help, serve
help to some food; help with food or drink; power
supply the force or power for the functioning of; feed
provide as food; gratify, indulge, pander
yield (to); give satisfaction to; underlay
provide with a base, support, lining, or backing; fill, fulfil, fulfill, meet, satisfy
fill or meet a want or need; horse
provide with a horse or horses; shower
provide abundantly with; accommodate
provide with something desired or needed; nourish, nurture, sustain
provide with nourishment; fix up
find (something or someone) for; gutter
provide with gutters; calk
provide with calks; sublease, sublet
lease or rent all or part of (a leased or rented property) to another person; farm out, hire out, rent out
grant the services of or the temporary use of, for a fee; fund
furnish money for; fund
provide a fund for the redemption of principal or payment of interest; subsidise, subsidize
support through subsidies; subsidise, subsidize
secure the assistance of by granting a subsidy, as of nations or military forces; finance
obtain or provide money for; bring home the bacon, provide
supply means of subsistence; earn a living; see through
support financially through a period of time; patronise, patronize, sponsor
assume sponsorship of; scant, skimp, stint
supply sparingly and with restricted quantities; terrace, terrasse
provide (a house) with a terrace; dado
provide with a dado; innervate
supply nerves to (some organ or body part); allot, assign, portion
give out; reallot
allot again; contribute, put up
provide; deal
distribute cards to the players in a game; compensate, recompense, remunerate
make payment to; compensate; overpay
pay too much; underpay
pay too little; prepay
pay for something before receiving it; go Dutch
share expenses equally and split the cost of something; compensate, indemnify, recompense, repair
make amends for; pay compensation for; tithe
pay a tenth of one's income, especially to the church; remit
send (money) in payment; vouchsafe
grant in a condescending manner; allowance
put on a fixed allowance, as of food; pay off, redeem
pay off (loans or promissory notes); bring in
submit (a verdict) to a court; trust
extend credit to; drop, expend, spend
pay out; advance
pay in advance; bribe, buy, corrupt, grease one's palms
make illegal payments to in exchange for favors or influence; give back, refund, repay, return
pay back; foot, pick
pay for something; tender
make a tender of; in legal settlements; offer
make available or accessible, provide or furnish; signalise, signalize
provide with traffic signals; extend, offer
make available; provide; disburse, pay out
expend, as from a fund; combine
add together from different sources; apply
give or convey physically; feed back, resubmit
submit (information) again to a program or automatic system; redeposit
deposit once again; charge
pay with a credit card; pay with plastic money; postpone payment by recording a purchase as a debt; pay cash
pay (for something) with cash; stock
provide or furnish with a stock of something; buy in, stock, stock up
amass so as to keep for future use or sale or for a particular occasion or use; caption
provide with a caption, as of a photograph or a drawing; tube
provide with a tube or insert a tube into; ticket
provide with a ticket for passage or admission; stock
supply with livestock; stock
supply with fish; rim
furnish with a rim; fret
provide (a musical instrument) with frets; step
furnish with steps; rail
provide with rails; grate
furnish with a grate; capitalise, capitalize
supply with capital, as of a business by using a combination of capital used by investors and debt capital provided by lenders; alphabetize
provide with an alphabet; wharf
provide with a wharf; air-condition, air-cool
equip with an apparatus for controlling the humidity and temperature; uniform
provide with uniforms; railroad
supply with railroad lines; partner
provide with a partner; bewhisker, whisker
furnish with whiskers; subtitle
supply (a movie) with subtitles; headline
provide (a newspaper page or a story) with a headline; match
provide funds complementary to; hobnail
supply with hobnails; wive
provide with a wife; marry (someone) to a wife; victual
supply with food; cloy, surfeit
supply or feed to surfeit; heat
provide with heat; seat
provide with seats; seat
put a seat on a chair; ramp
furnish with a ramp; arm
supply with arms; interleave
provide (books) with blank leaves; glass, glaze
furnish with glass; crenel, crenelate, crenellate
supply with battlements; causeway
provide with a causeway; canal, canalise, canalize
provide (a city) with a canal; bush
provide with a bushing; brattice
supply with a brattice, to ventilate mines; furnish
provide or equip with furniture; slat
equip or bar with slats; berth
provide with a berth; bed
furnish with a bed; computerise, computerize
provide with computers; costume
furnish with costumes; as for a film or play; bottom
provide with a bottom or a seat; rafter
provide (a ceiling) with rafters; tool
furnish with tools; key
provide with a key; fuel
provide with a combustible substance that provides energy; provision, purvey
supply with provisions; afford, yield
be the cause or source of; equip, fit, fit out, outfit
provide with (something) usually for a specific purpose; transistorise, transistorize
equip (an electronic circuit or device) with transistors; upholster
provide furniture with padding, springs, webbing, and covers; pay
make a compensation for; defray
bear the expenses of; cleat
provide with cleats; coal
supply with coal; corbel
furnish with a corbel; cornice
furnish with a cornice; constitutionalize
provide with a constitution, as of a country; copper-bottom
provide with a copper bottom; curtain
provide with drapery; gate
supply with a gate; index
provide with an index; articulate, joint
provide with a joint; kick back
pay a kickback; make an illegal payment; pour
supply in large amounts or quantities; pump
supply in great quantities; fire, fuel
provide with fuel; flood, glut, oversupply
supply with an excess of; toggle
provide with a toggle or toggles; patch
provide with a patch; also used metaphorically; water
provide with water; leverage
provide with leverage; tap
furnish with a tap or spout, so as to be able to draw liquid from it; top, top out
provide with a top or finish the top (of a structure); reflectorise, reflectorize
provide with reflectors, such as chemicals; retrofit
provide with parts, devices, or equipment not available or in use at the time of the original manufacture; border, edge
provide with a border or edge; machicolate
supply with projecting galleries; sanitate
provide with sanitary facilities or appliances; hat
furnish with a hat; theme
provide with a particular theme or motive; kern
furnish with a kern; headquarter
provide with headquarters; prefer
give preference to one creditor over another; enfranchise
grant voting rights; shelter
provide shelter for

Type of:: transfer
cause to change ownership

v place into the hands or custody of

Synonyms:: hand, pass, pass on, reach, turn over

Types:: show 14 types...; hide 14 types...; slip, sneak
pass on stealthily; deal
give (a specific card) to a player; deliver, fork out, fork over, fork up, hand over, render, turn in
to surrender someone or something to another; free, give up, release, relinquish, resign
part with a possession or right; commit, confide, entrust, intrust, trust
confer a trust upon; entrust, leave
put into the care or protection of someone; commend
give to in charge; derequisition
release from government control; bail
deliver something in trust to somebody for a special purpose and for a limited period; give away
formally hand over to the bridegroom in marriage; of a bride by her father; sacrifice
endure the loss of; charge, consign
give over to another for care or safekeeping; recommit
commit again; obligate
commit in order to fulfill an obligation

Type of:: transfer
cause to change ownership

v give (as medicine)

“I gave him the drug”

Synonyms: apply
give or convey physically

Type of:: administer, dispense
give or apply (medications)

v give food to

“don't give the child this tough meat”

Synonyms:: feed

Antonyms:: famish, starve
deprive of food; starve
deprive of a necessity and cause suffering; show more antonyms...

Types:: show 20 types...; hide 20 types...; dine
give dinner to; host for dinner; scavenge
feed on carrion or refuse; fodder
give fodder (to domesticated animals); slop, swill
feed pigs; regurgitate
feed through the beak by regurgitating previously swallowed food; corn
feed (cattle) with corn; malnourish, undernourish
provide with insufficient quality or quantity of nourishment; overfeed
feed excessively; spoonfeed
feed with a spoon; force-feed
feed someone who will not or cannot eat; lunch
provide a midday meal for; breakfast
provide breakfast for; breastfeed, give suck, lactate, nurse, suck, suckle, wet-nurse
give suck to; bottlefeed
feed (infants) with a bottle; inject
feed intravenously; aliment, nourish, nutrify
give nourishment to; range
let eat; crop, graze, pasture
let feed in a field or pasture or meadow; grass
feed with grass; drift
drive slowly and far afield for grazing

Type of:: cater, ply, provide, supply
give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance

v deliver in exchange or recompense

“I'll give you three books for four CDs”

Type of:: compensate, indemnify, recompense, repair
make amends for; pay compensation for

v give or convey physically

“She gave him First Aid”

“I gave him a punch in the nose”

Synonyms:: apply

Types:: tread
apply (the tread) to a tire; administer
perform (a church sacrament) ritually; insufflate
breathe or blow onto as a ritual or sacramental act, especially so as to symbolize the action of the Holy Spirit

Type of:: administer, allot, deal, deal out, dish out, dispense, distribute, dole out, lot, mete out, parcel out, shell out
administer or bestow, as in small portions

v cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense

“She gave him a black eye”

“The draft gave me a cold”

Synonyms: afford, yield
be the cause or source of

Types:: show 6 types...; hide 6 types...; infect
communicate a disease to; award, grant
give as judged due or on the basis of merit; deliver, drive home
carry out or perform; canker
infect with a canker; pension, pension off
grant a pension to; land
deliver (a blow)

v be the cause or source of

“He gave me a lot of trouble”

Synonyms:: afford, yield

Types:: open, open up
make available; allow, allow for, leave, provide
make a possibility or provide opportunity for; permit to be attainable or cause to remain

Type of:: furnish, provide, render, supply
give something useful or necessary to

v cause to happen or be responsible for

“His two singles gave the team the victory”

Synonyms:: yield

: generate, render, return, yield
give or supply

Type of:: create, make
make or cause to be or to become

v inflict as a punishment

“She gave the boy a good spanking”

“The judge gave me 10 years”

Type of:: bring down, impose, inflict, visit
impose something unpleasant

v give as a present; make a gift of

“What will you give her for her birthday?”

Synonyms:: gift, present

Types:: show 22 types...; hide 22 types...; dower, endow
furnish with an endowment; distribute, give out, hand out, pass out
give to several people; give away
make a gift of; raffle, raffle off
dispose of in a lottery; bung, fee, tip
give a tip or gratuity to in return for a service, beyond the compensation agreed on; bequeath, leave, will
leave or give by will after one's death; cede, deliver, give up, surrender
relinquish possession or control over; deed over, grant
transfer by deed; treat
provide with a gift or entertainment; donate
give to a charity or good cause; tender
offer or present for acceptance; render, submit
make over as a return; benefice
endow with a benefice; devise
give by will, especially real property; pass on
give to or transfer possession of; yield up
surrender, as a result of pressure or force; sell
give up for a price or reward; apportion, deal, divvy up, portion out, share
give out as one's portion or share; pledge, subscribe
pay (an amount of money) as a contribution to a charity or service, especially at regular intervals; sign away, sign over
formally assign ownership of; remember
show appreciation to; entail, fee-tail
limit the inheritance of property to a specific class of heirs

v contribute to some cause

“I gave at the office”

Synonyms:: chip in, contribute, kick in

Types:: combine
add together from different sources

v leave with; give temporarily

“Can I give you my keys while I go in the pool?”

“Can I give you the children for the weekend?”

Type of:: hand, pass, pass on, reach, turn over
place into the hands or custody of

v proffer (a body part)

“She gave her hand to her little sister”

Type of:: offer, proffer
present for acceptance or rejection

v convey or reveal information

“Give one's name”

Synonyms: impart, leave, pass on
transmit (knowledge or skills)

Types:: quote
name the price of; cast
deposit; underquote
quote a price lower than that quoted by (another seller)

Type of:: say, state, tell
express in words

v transmit (knowledge or skills)

“give a secret to the Russians”

Synonyms:: impart, leave, pass on

: bequeath, leave, will
leave or give by will after one's death

Types:: show 9 types...; hide 9 types...; convey
make known; pass on, of information; give thanks, thank
express gratitude or show appreciation to; hint, suggest
drop a hint; intimate by a hint; say
communicate or express nonverbally; look
convey by one's expression; flash
make known or cause to appear with great speed; breathe
manifest or evince; evince, express, show
give expression to; intend, mean
mean or intend to express or convey

Type of:: tell
let something be known

v present to view

“He gave the sign to start”

Type of:: show
make visible or noticeable

v convey, as of a compliment, regards, attention, etc.; bestow

“give the orders”

“Give him my best regards”

Synonyms:: pay

Types:: extend, offer
offer verbally

Type of:: communicate, intercommunicate
transmit thoughts or feelings

v submit for consideration, judgment, or use

“give one's opinion”

“give an excuse”

Type of:: subject, submit
refer for judgment or consideration

v offer in good faith

“He gave her his word”

Synonyms: commit, consecrate, dedicate, devote
give entirely to a specific person, activity, or cause

Type of:: pledge
give as a guarantee

v convey or communicate; of a smile, a look, a physical gesture

“She gave me a dirty look”

Synonyms:: throw

Type of:: communicate, intercommunicate
transmit thoughts or feelings

v emit or utter

“Give a gulp”

“give a yelp”

Type of:: emit, let loose, let out, utter
express audibly; utter sounds (not necessarily words)

v allow to have or take

“I give you two minutes to respond”

Type of:: allow, countenance, let, permit
consent to, give permission

v give or supply

Synonyms:: generate, render, return, yield

: yield
cause to happen or be responsible for; establish
bring about

Type of:: create, make, produce
create or manufacture a man-made product

v bring about

Synonyms:: establish

: generate, render, return, yield
give or supply

Types:: introduce
bring in or establish in a new place or environment; pacify
fight violence and try to establish peace in (a location); interpose
introduce

Type of:: create, make
make or cause to be or to become

v bestow

“give homage”

Synonyms:: render

Types:: dedicate
inscribe or address by way of compliment; inscribe
address, (a work of literature) in a style less formal than a dedication

Type of:: communicate, intercommunicate
transmit thoughts or feelings

v bestow, especially officially

“give a divorce”

Synonyms:: grant

v execute and deliver

“Give bond”

Type of:: execute
carry out the legalities of

v accord by verdict

“give a decision for the plaintiff”

Synonyms: render
bestow

Type of:: accord, allot, grant
allow to have

v manifest or show

“This student gives promise of real creativity”

“The office gave evidence of tampering”

Type of:: evince, express, show
give expression to

v organize or be responsible for

“give a course”

Synonyms:: have, hold, make, throw

Type of:: direct
be in charge of

v propose

“He gave the first of many toasts at the birthday party”

Type of:: drink, pledge, salute, toast, wassail
propose a toast to

v perform for an audience

“Pollini is giving another concert in New York”

Type of:: perform
give a performance (of something)

v dedicate

“give thought to”

“give priority to”

Synonyms:: devote, pay

: sacrifice
endure the loss of

Type of:: cerebrate, cogitate, think
use or exercise the mind or one's power of reason in order to make inferences, decisions, or arrive at a solution or judgments

v give entirely to a specific person, activity, or cause

“give one's talents to a good cause”

Synonyms:: commit, consecrate, dedicate, devote

: sacrifice
endure the loss of

Types:: consecrate, vow
dedicate to a deity by a vow; rededicate
dedicate anew; apply
apply oneself to

Type of:: apply, employ, use, utilise, utilize
put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose

v endure the loss of

“He gave his life for his children”

“I gave two sons to the war”

Synonyms:: sacrifice

: devote, pay
dedicate; commit, consecrate, dedicate, devote
give entirely to a specific person, activity, or cause

Type of:: free, give up, release, relinquish, resign
part with a possession or right

v consent to engage in sexual intercourse with a man

“She gave herself to many men”

Type of:: accept, consent, go for
give an affirmative reply to; respond favorably to

v be flexible under stress of physical force

“This material doesn't give”

Synonyms:: yield

Type of:: stretch
become longer by being stretched and pulled

v break down, literally or metaphorically

“The wall gave in”

“The roof finally gave under the weight of the ice”

Synonyms:: break, cave in, collapse, fall in, founder, give way

: abandon, give up
stop maintaining or insisting on; of ideas or claims; burst, collapse
cause to burst

Types:: show 5 types...; hide 5 types...; go off, implode
burst inward; buckle, crumple
fold or collapse; flop
fall loosely; break
curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves; sink, slide down, slump
fall or sink heavily

Type of:: change
undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature

v move in order to make room for someone for something

“The park gave way to a supermarket”

Synonyms:: ease up, give way, move over, yield

: abandon, give up
stop maintaining or insisting on; of ideas or claims

Type of:: move
move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion

v afford access to

“The French doors give onto a terrace”

Synonyms:: afford, open

n the elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length

Synonyms:: spring, springiness

Type of:: elasticity, snap
the tendency of a body to return to its original shape after it has been stretched or compressed

v estimate the duration or outcome of something

“He gave the patient three months to live”

“I gave him a very good chance at success”

Type of:: approximate, estimate, gauge, guess, judge
judge tentatively or form an estimate of (quantities or time)

v guide or direct, as by behavior of persuasion

“You gave me to think that you agreed with me”

Type of:: lead
cause to undertake a certain action

v occur

“what gives?”

Type of:: come about, fall out, go on, hap, happen, occur, pass, pass off, take place
come to pass

Launch

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