give

Etymology 1

From Middle English given, from Old Norse gefa (“to give”), from Proto-Germanic *gebaną (“to give”). Merged with native Middle English yiven, ȝeven, from Old English ġiefan, from the same Proto-Germanic source (compare the obsolete inherited English doublet yive).

verb

1. (ditransitive) To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere.
   1. To transfer one's possession or holding of (something) to (someone).
      I gave him my coat.
      I gave my coat to the beggar.
      When they asked, I gave my coat.
   2. To make a present or gift of.
      I'm going to give my wife a necklace for her birthday.
      She gave a pair of shoes to her husband for their anniversary.
   3. To pledge.
      I gave him my word that I'd protect his children.
   4. To provide (something) to (someone), to allow or afford.
      I gave them permission to miss tomorrow's class.
      Please give me some more time.
   5. To cause (a sensation or feeling) to exist in (the specified person, or the target, audience, etc).
      It gives me a lot of pleasure to be here tonight.
      The fence gave me an electric shock.
      My mother-in-law gives me nothing but grief.
      It's giving me bad vibes.
      [subtitle:] It's giving Wednesday Addams at the salon... 2022-10-25, Medina Azaldin, ELLE Beauty Team, “30 Halloween Nail Art Trends To Get You In The Mood For Trick Or Treat”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)
      The outfit is giving me eighties fitness video vibes, but you wear it well. 2023-02-21, Lakita Wilson, Last Chance Dance, Penguin, page 81
   6. To carry out (a physical interaction) with (something).
      I want to give you a kiss.
      She gave him a hug.
      I'd like to give the tire a kick.
      I gave the boy a push on the swing.
      She gave me a wink afterwards, so I knew she was joking.
   7. To pass (something) into (someone's hand, etc.).
      Give me your hand.
      On entering the house, he gave his coat to the doorman.
   8. To cause (a disease or condition) in, or to transmit (a disease or condition) to.
      My boyfriend gave me chlamydia.
      He was convinced that it was his alcoholism that gave him cancer.
2. (transitive) To provide, as, a service or a broadcast.
   They're giving my favorite show!
   We hope that the need to "give good e-mail" in response to questions from clients and potential clients will in fact induce firms to get serious about storing and reusing their expertise – and even become open to tailoring […] 1993, Business Law Today
   […]who did not have a culture in which 'giving good presentation' and successfully playing the internal political game was the way up. 2003, Iain Aitken, Value-Driven IT Management: Commercializing the IT Function, page 153
   A friendly voice on the phone welcoming prospective new clients is a must. Don't underestimate the importance of giving good "phone". 2006, Christopher Matthew Spencer, The Ebay Entrepreneur, page 248
   Social skills are required to meet new people in a chat room and maintain contact over time (“Do you give good e-mail?”). The Internet provides people with an opportunity to reinvent or misrepresent themselves. 2012-01-01, George Zinkan, Advertising Research: The Internet, Consumer Behavior, and Strategy, Marketing Classics Press, page 28
   He gives good face too, posing for the camera with hands on waist, eyes forward, legs crossed (Fig. 4.1). 2016-11-25, Gabrielle Jamela Hosein, Lisa Outar, Indo-Caribbean Feminist Thought: Genealogies, Theories, Enactments, Springer, page 54
3. (ditransitive) To estimate or predict (a duration or probability) for (something).
   I give it ten minutes before he gives up.
   I give it a 95% chance of success.
   I'll give their marriage six months.
4. (intransitive) To yield or collapse under pressure or force.
   A soldier noticed how earth "gave" as he walked over the shallow trenches. 1992, Garry Wills, “prologue”, in Lincoln at Gettysburg, page 21
   One pillar gave, then more, and suddenly the whole floor pancaked onto the floor below.
5. (intransitive) To lead (onto or into).
   The master bedroom gives onto a spacious balcony.
   Beyond the stile stands an attractive row of riverside trees – alder, hazel, beech, hawthorn and ash. Go across to the far corner of a field, where a through-stile gives onto a small, lightly wooded hill,[…] 2022-02-03, Terry Marsh, Walking the Dales Way: Ilkley to Bowness-on-Windermere through the Yorkshire Dales, Cicerone Press Limited
6. (transitive, dated) To provide a view of.
   His window gave the park.
   Columbus dwellers of Woodland Meadow Apts may not find themselves in a perfectly bucolic setting, as the residential complex gives onto a military defense logistics ground. 2006, Pierre Lagayette, Nature et progrès: interactions, exclusions, mutations, Presses Paris Sorbonne, page 61
7. To exhibit as a product or result; to produce; to yield.
   The number of men, divided by the number of ships, gives four hundred to each ship.
8. To cause; to make; used with the infinitive.
9. To cause (someone) to have; produce in (someone); effectuate.
   "Can do" gives me a choice, while "should do" gives me a complex. 1997, Jim Smoke, How a Man Measures Success, page 82
10. To allow or admit by way of supposition; to concede.
    He can be bad-tempered, I'll give you that, but he's a hard worker.
11. To attribute; to assign; to adjudge.
    I don't wonder at people giving him to me for a lover. 1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, page 6
12. To communicate or announce (advice, tidings, etc.); to pronounce or utter (an opinion, a judgment, a shout, etc.).
    The umpire finally gave his decision: the ball was out.
13. (dated or religion) To grant power, permission, destiny, etc. (especially to a person); to allot; to allow.
    once again 'Tis given me to behold my friend. 1700, Nicholas Rowe, The Ambitious Stepmother, page 13
14. (reflexive) To devote or apply (oneself).
    The soldiers give themselves to plunder.
    That boy is given to fits of bad temper.
15. (obsolete) To become soft or moist.
    Some moyst weather hath‥caused the powder to give and danke. 1590, John Smyth, A Discourse […]concerning[…]weapons
16. (obsolete) To shed tears; to weep.
17. (obsolete) To have a misgiving.
    My mind gives ye're reserv'd / To rob poor market women. c. 1608-1634, John Webster, Appius and Virginia, page 16
18. (slang) To be going on, to be occurring; Only used in what gives?
19. (slang) To exceed expectations.
    Your outfit is giving!
    There were lots of statement nail moments at the 2022 MTV VMA‘s, and Latto‘s metallic french tip manicure was one of them. [see title] 2022-08-29, Stixx M, “Latto's French Chrome Manicure Was "Giving" at the MTV VMAs”, in Hypebae
    Next, the TikTok user showed her followers the $15 solid scoop neck tank dress in mocha brown. / "This one is giving. I love this, this is so cute. I think my body shape looks really cute in it," she told her followers. 2022-10-30, Roisin Chapman, “I’m mid-size – my Shein haul included multiple dupes of Kim Kardashian’s Skims with prices from $13”, in The Sun
    The fashion influencer also posts content showing off her corporate looks, demonstrating how she can be professional and stylish. / In the comments, people seemed less concerned with her outfit than her hair styling. / "Okay but the fringe is giving," wrote one person. 2023-01-26, Roisin Chapman, “Trolls tell me my work skirts are ‘too short’ for the office – but my boss doesn’t care, so I don’t know why they do”, in The Irish Sun

noun

1. The amount of bending that something undergoes when a force is applied to it; a tendency to yield under pressure; resilience.
   This chair doesn't have much give.
   There is no give in his dogmatic religious beliefs.
   The striker's job was onerous, too, because there was so little "give" in the metal, and the perpetual jarring was indeed trying to the muscles. 1945 January and February, A Former Pupil, “Some Memories of Crewe Works—III”, in Railway Magazine, page 13

Etymology 2

noun

1. Alternative form of gyve