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Glite Dictionary
🚶 To move aside 💥 To collapse
to give way

to give way

42 3.3
Move aside or be replaced by something else
  • phrasal verb
  • /ɡɪv weɪ/
translation icon : dar paso a
  • Give way to His Majesty.
  • gradually give way to
  • give way to new
  • give way to more

It says that they will not give way to envy or lover superstition.

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Examples

  • The old bipolar rivalry has given way to the emergence of new regional forces and tensions.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Great-power competition was supposed to give way to an era of geoeconomics.

    Academic text (2008)

  • Evil can only take over when somebody gives way to it.

    Amy (2013)

  • You must never give way.

    Under Capricorn (1949)

  • The accomplishments we have already made simply give way to new insights.

    Academic text (2012)

  • The dark days of the 1860s, however, soon gave way to a more promising decade.

    Academic text (2008)

  • The over-optimistic forecasts of recent years must now give way to more sober assessments.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Throughout the region, military regimes have given way to civilian-led representative democracies.

    Academic text (1999)

  • The excitement of the festival will give way to a quieter atmosphere as night falls.

  • Their joy will eventually give way to sadness as they prepare to say goodbye.

Synonyms

to step aside
vsto give way
129 3.4

Move out of the way or leave a job so someone else can take it

is more general, also applying to being replaced or to physical movement
to move over
vsto give way
61 1.6

Shift a little to make room for someone else

also covers allowing replacement or being removed rather than only moving
to make way
vsto give way
57 2.3

Move aside to let a person or vehicle pass

also includes the idea of being replaced or substituted, not just clearing space
to yield
vsto give way
11 4.4

To move aside to let someone or something pass

is broader, also meaning to be replaced rather than only yielding physically
to make space
vsto give way
3 2.5

Move things so there is room for something

also refers to making space by moving aside or being replaced, not only clearing
to free up space
vsto give way
2 3.2

To make more room by removing or moving things

is used more generally, also meaning to step away or be replaced

Antonyms

to obstruct
119 5.1

To block a path or view

to hinder
75 3.6

To make it difficult for people or things to do something

How Willing

to yield
11 4.4
to give way
42 3.3
to step back
101 3.6

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

give + way

The verb 'give' (to yield) directly suggests the sense of yielding or failing, so a learner who knows 'give' will get a strong cue. However, 'way' does not contribute a clear literal meaning here (it does not denote a route in this sense) and the combined sense of 'collapse or fail under pressure' is a metaphorical extension rather than a strict compositional meaning, making it only partly predictable without exposure.

Etymology

The phrasal verb give way comes from the simple image of someone moving aside to let others pass, when they give their way, the space or path, to the person walking. So it now means 'to move aside' or to be 'replaced' by something else.