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Glite Dictionary
🚫 To quit 👐 To surrender 💥 To stop working
to give up

to give up

14 2.6
To stop working after being used for a long time
  • phrasal verb
  • /ɡɪv ʌp/
translation icon : dejar de funcionar
  • The old printer finally gave up after years of faithful service and stopped working completely.

My can't I have less access my a mouse even less and you know, microbe my interface has given up.

Examples

  • Its answer was to give up and shut down.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • With a face soaked in sweat, Grandfather Melesio gave up working because of the lack of light.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Unfortunately, he had to give up all sports for two years; it was very hard.

    Blog text (8)

  • Billie respected them for that, and she envied them because she'd had to give up on her own marriage.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • The horn blasted for a minute or two, then gave up in a hoarse bleat.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • After several attempts to fix the broken appliance, it gave up and no longer functioned.

  • When the car engine started making strange noises, it eventually gave up and refused to start.

Synonyms

to give out
vsto give up
57 4.1

To stop working or run out so nothing is left

means stopping after use rather than only being exhausted
to give way
vsto give up
35 4.2

Break or fail because of pressure

is about ceasing operation over time rather than sudden pressure failure
to go bad
vsto give up
  • US
33 3.5

Stop working and need repair

refers specifically to ending operation after a period of use
to bite the dust
vsto give up
  • Informal
11 6.8

To stop working or fail completely

is the straightforward description of a machine stopping rather than a colorful idiom
to give up the ghost
vsto give up
  • Informal
4 8.1

To die or stop working after a long time of problems

is the neutral technical idea of stopping operation rather than a joking phrase
to yield up the ghost
vsto give up
  • Archaic
9.8

To stop working or to die after a long time of getting worse

applies to machines stopping after use rather than to dying beings

Antonyms

to function
441 2.6

To work in a particular role or job

How Functional

to act up
  • Informal
28 4.8
to fail
370 2.2
to break down
194 3.2
to give up
14 2.6

Surface Forms

give up infinitive
gave up past
given up past participle
giving up present participle
gives up third person singular

Morphology

give + up

The sense 'to stop functioning' is partially derivable from 'give' (to yield/stop resisting) plus the particle 'up' (completion or cessation), so learners may guess a meaning related to stopping or failing. However, the specific intransitive phrasal-verb sense for machines is a metaphorical extension and the exact nuance is not fully predictable without exposure, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Give up is used for machines in the same way people stop: picture a tired engine that 'gives' its power up and falls still. That's why it means 'to stop working'.