give

verb

/ɡɪv/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they give	/ɡɪv/ /ɡɪv/
he / she / it gives	/ɡɪvz/ /ɡɪvz/
past simple gave	/ɡeɪv/ /ɡeɪv/
past participle given	/ˈɡɪvn/ /ˈɡɪvn/
-ing form giving	/ˈɡɪvɪŋ/ /ˈɡɪvɪŋ/

Idioms Phrasal Verbs

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hand/provide

[transitive] to hand something to somebody so that they can look at it, use it or keep it for a time

give something to somebody Give the letter to your mother when you've read it.
She gave her ticket to the woman at the check-in desk.
give somebody something Give your mother the letter.
They were all given a box to carry.

[transitive, intransitive] to hand something to somebody as a present; to allow somebody to have something as a present

give somebody something What are you giving your father for his birthday?
She was given a huge bunch of flowers.
Did you give the waiter a tip?
give something to somebody She gave a couple of pounds to the beggar.
give (something) We all agreed not to give presents this year.
They say it's better to give than to receive.

[transitive] to provide somebody with something

give somebody something They were all thirsty so I gave them a drink.
Give me your name and address.
We've been given a 2 per cent pay increase.
I was hoping you would give me a job.
He was given a new heart in a five-hour operation.
Give me some time to decide.
We should at least give him the opportunity to explain why he did this.
This should give you some idea of the extent of the problem.
Can you give us some sense of exactly what is at stake here?
We'll give you all the help we can.
She wants a job that gives her more responsibility.
Can I give you a ride to the station?
I'll give you (= allow you to have) ten minutes to prepare your answer.
Don't give me any of that backchat (= don't be rude).
give something to somebody He gives Italian lessons to his colleagues.
The reforms should give a better chance to the less able children.
give something She gave some helpful advice.
She gives the impression of being very busy.
I was asked to give evidence at the trial.

Extra Examples

She gave me some medicine that sent me off to sleep.
Let me give you a word of advice.
The dark glasses gave him an air of mystery.
This shampoo will give your hair a nice healthy sheen.
We want to give you the best possible care.
They couldn't give me any more information.
He just left. He wouldn't give a reason.
The police did not give any details of the attack.

money

[intransitive, transitive] to pay money to a charity, etc., to help people

We need your help—please give generously.
give to something They both gave regularly to charity.
give something I gave a small donation.
give something to something A lot of people give money to good causes.

Topics Moneya1, Social issuesa1

[transitive] to pay in order to have or do something

give somebody something I'll give you £100 and not a penny more!
give somebody something for something How much will you give me for the car?
give something I'd give anything to see him again.
give something for something I gave £50 for the lot.

do/produce something

[transitive] used with a noun to describe a particular action, giving the same meaning as the related verb

give something She gave a shrug of her shoulders (= shrugged).
He turned to us and gave a big smile (= smiled broadly).
She looked up from her work and gave a yawn (= yawned).
He gave a loud cry (= cried out loudly) and fell to the floor.
Her work has given pleasure to (= pleased) millions of readers.
give somebody something He gave her a kiss (= kissed her).
I have to admit that the news gave us a shock (= shocked us).
He gave me a suspicious look (= looked at me suspiciously).

For other similar expressions, look up the nouns in each. For example, you will find give your approval at approval.

[transitive] give somebody something to produce a particular feeling in somebody

All that driving has given me a headache.
Go for a walk. It'll give you an appetite.

telephone call

[transitive] give somebody something to make a phone call to somebody

Give me a call tomorrow.
(British English) I'll give you a ring.

mark/grade

[transitive] to judge somebody/something to be of a particular standard

give somebody/something sth She had given the assignment an A.
I give it ten out of ten for originality.
give something He virtually never gives a grade of less than C.
give something to somebody/something I gave top marks to her essay.

illness

[transitive] to pass an illness onto somebody and make them ill

give somebody something You've given me your cold.
give something to somebody She'd given the bug to all her colleagues.

Topics Illnessa1

punishment

[transitive] to make somebody suffer a particular punishment

give somebody something The judge gave him a nine-month suspended sentence.
give something to somebody We discussed what punishment should be given to the boys.

party/event

[transitive] give something if you give a party, you organize it and invite people

We're giving a party to celebrate our silver wedding.

[transitive] to perform something in public

give something He gave a rousing performance of the Bob Marley song.
She gave a reading from her latest volume of poetry.
The President will be giving a press conference this afternoon.
give something to somebody She gave a fine speech to the waiting crowd.

treat as important

[transitive] to use time, energy, etc. for somebody/something

give somebody/something sth I gave the matter a lot of thought.
give something to somebody/something I gave a lot of thought to the matter.
The government has given top priority to reforming the tax system.

predict how long

[transitive] give somebody/something sth to predict that something will last a particular length of time

That marriage won't last. I'll give them two years at the outside.

in sport

[transitive] to say that a player or the ball is in a particular position or that a goal has been scored

give somebody/something + adj. The umpire gave the ball out.
give something The ref gave the goal.

bend

[intransitive] to bend or stretch under pressure

The branch began to give under his weight.
(figurative) We can't go on like this—something's got to give.

[intransitive] to agree to change your mind or give up some of your demands

You're going to have to give a little.

Topics Discussion and agreementc2

More Like This Verbs with two objectsVerbs with two objects

bet
bring
build
buy
cost
get
give
leave
lend
make
offer
owe
pass
pay
play
post
promise
read
refuse
sell
send
show
sing
take
teach
tell
throw
wish
write

Word OriginOld English giefan, gefan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch geven and German geben.

Idioms Most idioms containing give are at the entries for the nouns and adjectives in the idioms, for example, give rise to something is at rise n.

don’t give me that

(informal) used to tell somebody that you do not accept what they say
- ‘I didn't have time to do it.’ ‘Oh, don't give me that!’

give and take

to be willing, in a relationship, to accept what somebody else wants and to give up some of what you want
- You're going to have to learn to give and take.

give as good as you get

to react with equal force when somebody attacks or criticizes you
- She can give as good as she gets.

give it up (for somebody)

(informal) to show your approval of somebody by clapping your hands
- Give it up for Ed Sheeran!

give me something/somebody (any day/time)

(informal) used to say that you prefer a particular thing or person to the one that has just been mentioned
- We don't go out much. Give me a quiet night in front of the TV any day!
Topics Preferences and decisionsc2

give or take (something)

if something is correct give or take a particular amount, it is approximately correct
- It'll take about three weeks, give or take a day or so.

give somebody to believe/understand (that)…

[often passive] (formal) to make somebody believe/understand something
- I was given to understand that she had resigned.

give somebody what for

to severely punish or criticize somebody for doing something wrong
- My son was rude to my friends so I gave him what for.

I give you…

used to ask people to drink a toast to somebody
- Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Geoff Ogilby!

I/I’ll give you that

(informal) used when you are admitting that something is true

what gives?

(informal) what is happening?; what is the news?