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to give a damn

to give a damn

172 8.8
To not care at all about someone or something
  • phrasal verb
  • /ɡɪv ə dæm/
  • NSFW
: importar un carajo (vulgar)
  • Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.
  • just give a damn

It's like excellence and not giving a damn combined.

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Examples

  • I don't give a damn about the rules; I do what I want.

  • But I don't give a damn if you hate me.

    Academic text (2009)
  • Never ever do we give a damn one way or the other.

  • No one gives a damn about your kids title.

  • You give a damn about us anymore?

  • So now I have this huge gap in my understanding, and nobody gives a damn.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • It's like excellence and not giving a damn combined.

  • You're the only one who gives a damn.

  • In fact, I shouldn't give a damn about what you think of me.

    Academic text (2007)
  • And frankly, I don't give a damn whether you believe me or not.

    Fiction book (1990)

Synonyms

to give a hoot
vsto give a damn
  • Archaic
9 8.1

To not care at all about something

is stronger and more likely used with anger or scorn
to give a rat
vsto give a damn
  • Slang
9 9.9

To care at all about something

is the fuller informal expression that often feels stronger
to give a rip
vsto give a damn
  • Slang
2 9.5

To not care at all about something

is used the same way but often carries more force
to give a rat's arse
vsto give a damn
  • Offensive
1 9.9

To not care at all about something

is the neutral informal way to show indifference
to give a flying shit
vsto give a damn
  • Offensive
1 9.9

To say in rude language that someone does not care at all

is similar but less vulgar in everyday use
to give a monkey's
vsto give a damn
  • Slang
1 9.9

To not care at all about something, usually in negative sentences

is comparable but generally feels a touch stronger or blunter
to care a hang
vsto give a damn
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To feel no interest or worry at all about something

is used the same way but is usually more colloquial
to could care less
vsto give a damn
  • Informal
1 9.1

To say you do not care at all, often to show you actually do care

is straightforward and genuinely expresses lack of concern
to give a hang
vsto give a damn
  • Archaic
9.3

To not care at all about something, used only in negative sentences

is similar but can appear in more varied negative phrasing
to care a pin
vsto give a damn
  • Archaic
9.9

To not mind something at all

is more current and often feels sharper in tone
to care a jackstraw
vsto give a damn
  • Archaic
9.9

To feel no interest or concern about something

is the common informal phrase used to show indifference
to give a sneck posset
vsto give a damn
  • Archaic
9.9

Not care at all about something

is modern and used more often in everyday speech

Antonyms

71 4.6

Lack of interest or concern about something

How Concerned

worried
∞ 1.0
concerned
∞ 2.2
to care
∞ 1.0
to give a damn
  • NSFW
172 8.8
indifference
71 4.6
to could care less
  • Informal
1 9.1

Surface Forms

give a damn infinitive
given a damn past participle
giving a damn present participle
gives a damn third person singular

Morphology

give + a + damn

The meaning 'to care (or not) about something' follows from the construction 'give [something]' in the sense of 'show or give (a feeling)' combined with 'a damn' used as a slang noun for 'any concern', so a learner could partially infer that 'not give a damn' means 'not care'. However, 'damn' here is slang/idiomatic and the noun sense 'a damn' = 'any concern' is not fully predictable from the literal word meanings, so the expression is only partly transparent to a B1 learner.

Etymology

The idiom give a damn comes from the old idea that a damn was like a tiny thing you could give. If you would not give a damn, you did not give even a little care, so today it means 'not to care at all'.