to present voluntarily and without expecting compensation; bestow

to give a birthday present to someone.

to hand to someone

Give me that plate, please.

to place in someone's care

If you give me your coat, I'll put it in the closet.

to grant (permission, opportunity, etc.) to someone

Give me a chance.

to impart or communicate

to give advice; to give a cold to someone.

to set forth or show; present; offer

He gave no reason for his lateness.

to pay or transfer possession to another in exchange for something

They gave five dollars for the picture. He gave me the car for

to furnish, provide, or proffer

to give evidence; Let me give you my umbrella before you go out in this rain.

to provide as an entertainment or social function

to give a New Year's Eve party.

to deal or administer

to give a blow to someone; to give medicine to a patient.

to put forth, emit, or utter; issue

to give a cry; to give a command.

to assign or admit as a basis of calculation or reasoning (usually used passively)

These facts being given, the argument makes sense.

to produce, yield, or afford

to give good results; 9 8 gives 72; The hen gave six eggs a week.

to make, do, or perform

to give a start; to give a lurch.

to perform or present publicly

to give a play; to give a concert.

to cause; be responsible for (usually fol. by an infinitive)

They gave me to understand that you would be there.

to care about something to the value or extent of (something fanciful)

I don't give a hoot about his opinion.

to relinquish or sacrifice

to give one's life for a cause.

to convey or transmit

Give Aunt Betty my love.

to assign or allot

Give every man a full ration of biscuits. They gave him the name of Joseph.

to bestow (the object of one's choice) upon, as if by providence

Give me the wide open spaces anytime.

to be connected with, as by a telephone operator

Give me 235-7522.

to present to an audience, as an entertainer, speaker, or act

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the governor of Texas.

to attribute or ascribe

to give the devil his due; After long study the critic gave the unsigned work to a minor impressionist.

to cause or occasion

She gives me a pain in the neck.

to apply fully or freely

He gives his free time to golf.

to award by verdict or after consideration

A decision was given for the defendant.

to inflict as a punishment on another; punish by; impose a sentence of

The judge gave him five years.

to pledge, offer as a pledge, or execute and deliver

He gave her his promise. Can you give bond?

to propose as the subject of a toast (fol. by an indirect object)

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you our country.

to bear to a man; deliver (fol. by an indirect object)

She gave him a beautiful baby boy.

to sire upon a woman; father (fol. by an indirect object)

He gave her two children in the first five years of marriage.

to concede or grant, as a point in an argument.

to make a gift or gifts; contribute

to give to the United Way.

to yield somewhat, as to influence or force; compromise

We can't negotiate until each side is willing to give on some points.

to yield somewhat when subjected to weight, force, pressure, etc.

A horsehair mattress doesn't give much.

to collapse; break down; fall apart; fail

The antique chair gave when I sat on it.

to be warm and open in relationships with other persons

a withdrawn person who doesn't know how to give.

Informal . to divulge information

Okay now, give! What happened?

to afford a view or passage; face, open, or lead (usually fol. by on, onto, etc.)

The window gives on the sea. This door gives onto the hallway.

the quality or state of being resilient; springiness. ?

give away,

to give as a present; bestow.

to present (the bride) to the bridegroom in a marriage ceremony.

to expose or betray (a person).

to reveal (a confidence or secret, hidden motives, true feelings, etc.)

That remark gave away his real feelings.

give back, to return (something), as to its owner; restore

You haven't given back the books you borrowed from me.

give birth to. birth ( def. 10 ) .

give in,

to acknowledge defeat; yield.

to hand in; deliver

Please give in your timecards.

give of, to devote or contribute generously of

to give of oneself; to give of one's abundance.

give off, to put forth; emit

The gardenia gives off a very strong fragrance.

give out,

to send out; emit.

to make public; announce.

to distribute; issue.

to become exhausted.

to become used up; fail

The fuel gave out.

to do or express something, esp. unrestrainedly or easily

to give out with a song.

give over,

to put into the care of; transfer

She gave over all her property to her daughter.

to put an end to; stop

They will never give over their impossible dreams.

to indulge in without restraint

She gave herself over to tears.

to devote to a specified activity

The day was given over to relaxing in the sun.

give up,

to abandon hope; despair.

to desist from; renounce

to give up smoking.

to surrender; relinquish.

to devote (oneself) entirely to

She gave herself up to her job and seldom saw her old friends.

South Midland U.S. to consider; deem

She's given up to be the kindest woman around here.

give and take

to compromise in order to cooperate

A willingness to give and take is important for success in marriage.

to exchange ideas

an informal meeting in which there would be opportunities to give and take.

give battle. battle 1 ( def. 10 ) .

give ground, to yield before superior force

as of arms or of reasoning.

give it to

Informal . to reprimand or punish

His father really gave it to him for coming home so late.

give or take

plus or minus a specified amount; more or less

It will cost

give rise to. rise ( def. 55 ) .

give way. way ( def. 26 ) .