to give
- verb
- /ɡɪv/
- The bridge began to give under the weight of the heavy truck.
- give way
Examples
-
There was no way he was going to give up that easily.
Academic text (2011) -
But that is going to give me the shadows that I need.
-
Well, we go ahead and give this a pull.
-
So I just give it a little press.
-
But the work, the energy that I give it is taken from me.
-
The more you want to give, you will remain happy.
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We're not gonna give up on him.
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Come on, give them a hand.
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That means that we should not be too quick to give or take offense.
-
All right, let's give it a little scrub.
Synonyms
To fall down suddenly, for example when a person faints or a building breaks
To stop resisting under pressure or force
To bend and become damaged under strong pressure or heat
Break or fail because of pressure
To collapse inward, as a roof or organization breaking down
Suddenly fall inward because its sides or top become weak, for example a tunnel
To fail completely because of problems with plans or projects
To give in to pressure even though you do not want to
To give in to pressure or criticism
To give in easily when under pressure
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
To stop someone from working at their job, usually because of bad work or behavior
- Informal
To respond equally strongly when someone attacks or criticizes you
- Informal
So generous that they would give almost everything to help others
- Offensive
A joking way to say someone is not good enough to do something as a job
- Informal
Allowing a small favor makes someone try to take much more than you wanted
- Archaic
To show you do not respect someone by putting your thumb to your nose and wiggling your fingers
- Informal
Allow someone freedom to show ability or make mistakes that reveal their true character
Tell someone angrily that you are upset with them
Phrasal Verbs
- Informal
To stop doing or talking about something because it annoys other people
To cause a sudden feeling of fear or strong excitement that makes someone shiver
- Offensive
To pull up someone's underwear quickly as a joke so it hurts and makes them embarrassed
To make someone leave their job, often as punishment or during job cuts
Compounds
- Jargon
A basketball move where a player passes the ball then runs toward the basket to get the ball back
How Yielding
Surface Forms
Etymology
Give also long ago took the meaning 'to yield' or 'let go', so when something 'gives' under pressure it 'lets go' or 'yields' and changes form or breaks.