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Glite Dictionary
what gives

what gives

15 8.9
Asking why something is happening when it seems wrong or surprising
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : ¿Qué pasa?
  • When the meeting started an hour late, I wondered 'what gives with the delay.'
  • Hey, what gives
  • So, what gives

I was mad at God and I went to God and I said, what gives?

Examples

  • What gives you, again, given the dark web, given all the dangers out there, what gives you hope about the future?

  • Is the whole countryside in on this conspiracy, or what gives?

    Fiction book (1997)

  • What gives you the right to stage attacks on people just trying to go to work?

    Fiction book (2002)

  • What gives you the strength to carry on day after day?

    Academic text (2013)

  • "What gives?" I said to Lewis in the hall, but he only shook his head.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • If she wants to leave the room, the house, the county, the state or the country, what gives you the right to tell her she can't go?

  • I can't understand the student departing the game so early... what gives?

    Blog text (10)

  • "Hey, Sanchez, what gives?

    Fiction book (2001)

  • I was confused by his sudden silence, so I asked, 'what gives?'

  • She seemed upset, so I asked her, 'what gives?' to understand the issue.

Synonyms

what's with
vswhat gives
  • Informal
262 7.9

Ask why something is happening or seems strange

is used when something seems wrong or unexpected rather than mere curiosity
what's the matter
vswhat gives
  • Informal
161 2.0

A question asking why someone is upset or not feeling well

is a general informal probe into the cause rather than personal concern
what's the big idea
vswhat gives
  • Informal
8.1

To ask why someone is doing something when you are annoyed or surprised

is an informal request for the cause rather than an accusing complaint

Antonyms

all good
  • Informal
139 5.4

Everything is fine with no problems or worries

How Formal

what gives
  • Informal
15 8.9
what's the story
  • Informal
34 8.2
happenin'
  • Slang
9.9

Surface Forms

what gives main

Morphology

what + give

Although 'what' signals a question, the verb 'give' in 'what gives?' is used idiomatically (intransitively) and does not retain its basic, literal senses, so the overall meaning 'what's going on/what's the problem' cannot be reliably derived from the parts. This colloquial usage is language-specific and unpredictable for B1 learners who know the individual words but have not encountered the expression.

Etymology

The question what gives may come from the simple idea of the word gives, meaning to break or fail. So people used what gives to ask 'what is happening' or 'what is wrong'.