give up
verb
gave up; given up; giving up; gives up
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
: to cease doing or attempting something especially as an admission of defeat : quit
—often used with on
don't give up on the project
Synonyms
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
The club conceded a corner 30 seconds in and gave up a goal in the first minute.
—
Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 28 Apr. 2024
The Lakers gave up only 12 fast-break points, which encouraged James.
—Dylan Hernández, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2024
Through the first three games of the series, Florida gave up just one goal and allowed just 17 total shots on goal in the first period.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 27 Apr. 2024
The project tracks the true story of Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl in the segregated South who refused to give up her seat on the bus nine months before Rosa Parks did the same.
—Ben Croll, Variety, 27 Apr. 2024
Amid the scandal, DeGeneres also decided to give up her eponymous day-time talk show, which went off the air in May 2022, after nearly 20 years.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 26 Apr. 2024
Who wants to give up a below-3% mortgage rate for one that’s edging closer to 8%?
—Alena Botros, Fortune, 26 Apr. 2024
The Cowboys also gave up a seventh-round draft pick in 2025.
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Apr. 2024
And passengers often must engage with customer service agents or chatbots to secure refunds, which can lead them to give up on the process altogether, according to Buttigieg.
—Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 24 Apr. 2024
Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 28 Apr. 2024
The Lakers gave up only 12 fast-break points, which encouraged James.
—Dylan Hernández, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2024
Through the first three games of the series, Florida gave up just one goal and allowed just 17 total shots on goal in the first period.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 27 Apr. 2024
The project tracks the true story of Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl in the segregated South who refused to give up her seat on the bus nine months before Rosa Parks did the same.
—Ben Croll, Variety, 27 Apr. 2024
Amid the scandal, DeGeneres also decided to give up her eponymous day-time talk show, which went off the air in May 2022, after nearly 20 years.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 26 Apr. 2024
Who wants to give up a below-3% mortgage rate for one that’s edging closer to 8%?
—Alena Botros, Fortune, 26 Apr. 2024
The Cowboys also gave up a seventh-round draft pick in 2025.
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Apr. 2024
And passengers often must engage with customer service agents or chatbots to secure refunds, which can lead them to give up on the process altogether, according to Buttigieg.
—Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 24 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'give up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near give up
Cite this Entry
“Give up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/give%20up. Accessed 1 May. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share