give up
verbalso spelled give-up11 senses
- 1To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone).
- 2To relinquish (something)
- 3Devote or dedicate (oneself, one's life, etc.) to something.
- 4To have someone obtain (something) to one's disadvantage…
- 5To stop or quit (an activity, etc.).
- 6To abandon (someone or something)
- 7To lose hope concerning (someone or something)
- 8To admit defeat, capitulate; to desist for that reason.
- 9To execute a trade on behalf of another broker.
- 10To acknowledge, recognize as.
- 11To reveal (something).
1
To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone).
- He was surrounded, so gave himself up.
- They gave him up to the police.
2
To relinquish (something)
- He gave up his seat to an old man.
- The king gave up land in exchange for peace.
1 more example
- "Dear Miss Woodhouse, I would not give up the pleasure and honour of being intimate with you for any thing in the world."1816, Jane Austen, chapter 7, in Emma, volume 1:
3
Devote or dedicate (oneself, one's life, etc.) to something.
- I gave myself up to working for this cause.
- She persuaded us to give up our time to the project.
4
To have someone obtain (something) to one's disadvantage; to concede.
- A good pitcher will give up very few home runs.
- Don't tell them where you are, and try not to give up any clues either.
1 more example
- Fiers, who now pitches for the Oakland Athletics, has gone 27-12 with a no-hitter in two years since leaving the Astros. But the last time he faced them, on Sept. 9, he gave up nine runs, including five homers, and got just three outs.2019 November 14, Tyler Kepner, “After Reports of Astros' Cheating, M.L.B. Is Left to Restore Trust”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 15 Jan 2023:
5
To stop or quit (an activity, etc.).
- They gave up the search when it got dark.
- Once again, the WiFi isn't willing to work. When the guard comes to check tickets, I ask him if it ever works. He rolls his eyes and tells me it rarely does. He says I'll be lucky if I get it to connect. I give up trying.2025 October 15, 'Mystery Shopper', “About Anglia... and high scores”, in RAIL, number 1046, page 54:
6
To abandon (someone or something)
- I gave up my faith years ago.
- The semi-streamlined contour of the earlier G.W.R. railcars has been given up in favour of a more utilitarian blunt-nose end, and effective floor space gained thereby.1941 October, “Notes and News: Great Western Parcels Railcar”, in Railway Magazine, page 474:
3 more examples
- Never gonna give you up / Never gonna let you down / Never gonna run around and desert you1987, Stock Aitken Waterman, “Never Gonna Give You Up”, in Whenever You Need Somebody, performed by Rick Astley:
- The optimistic peace-and-love philosophy of his youth having given him up, he no longer knew how to reconcile himself to an increasingly phoney (he loathed, in this context, the otherwise excellent word “virtual”) reality.2001, Salman Rushdie, Fury: A Novel, London: Jonathan Cape, →ISBN, page 7:
- "I tried retirement ten years ago. Didn't think much of it. Complete waste of time. So I gave it up after two weeks."2021 November 3, Adrian Shooter talks to Paul Clifton, “A lifetime of railway achievements”, in RAIL, number 943, page 34:
7
To lose hope concerning (someone or something)
- They gave him up for dead.
8
To admit defeat, capitulate; to desist for that reason.
- OK, I give up, you win.
- Wake in a sweat again / Another day's been laid to waste / In my disgrace / Stuck in my head again / Feels like I'll never leave this place / There's no escape / I'm my own worst enemy / I've given up / I'm sick of feeling / Is there nothing you can say? / Take this all away / I'm suffocating2007, “Given Up”, Mike Shinoda (lyrics), performed by Linkin Park:
- The next morning, Sunday, I was boxing with R., who had come over with three or four others to swap a few with me. I was given up to be the best boxer around, and I laid them cold as fast as they came at me.1969, God Struck Me Dead; Religious Conversion Experiences and Autobiographies of Ex-Slaves, Philadelphia, P.A.; Boston, M.A.: Pilgrim Press, page 45:
- He gave up that he was the one who opened the door.
- Well, give it up, Prof! What did you find out!2004, Intelligent Systems, translated by Nintendo of America, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Nintendo, GameCube, level/area: Rogueport:
- Derived terms
- don't give up your day job, give it up, giver-upper, give-up, give up the ghost