Definition of: give

(giv) v. gave, giv·en, giv·ing v.t.
1. To transfer the possession or title of to another without compensation of any kind.
2. To transfer to the possession or control of another for a price or equal value.
3. To hand over to another for safekeeping, delivery, etc.: to give a letter to a postman.
4. To offer as entertainment: to give a play, party, etc.
5. To yield as a product or result: Two plus two gives four.
6. To be the cause or source of: The sun gives light.
7. To provide or furnish; impart: to give evidence; to give form to an idea.
8. To express in words; declare: to give a ruling or reply.
9. To impose or grant, as a punishment or reward: They gave him the death penalty.
10. To emit or show, as a movement, shout, etc.
11. To administer, as medicine.
12. To deal; inflict, as a blow or pain.
13. To concede; yield or grant: to give ground; to give permission.
14. To devote or sacrifice, as to a cause: to give one's time or one's life.
—v.i.
15. To make gifts.
16. To yield, as from pressure, melting, or thawing; collapse.
17. To be springy or resilient; bend.
—to give away
1. To bestow as a gift.
2. To bestow (the bride) upon the bridegroom in a marriage ceremony.
3. Colloq. To reveal or disclose; betray.
—to give birth (to)
1. To bear (offspring).
2. To result in.
—to give in
1. To yield, as in a fight or argument.
2. To collapse, as under stress.
—to give off To send forth; emit, as odors.
—to give out
1. To send forth; emit.
2. To serve out or distribute.
3. To make known; publish.
4. To fail; become worn out or exhausted.
—to give over
1. To hand over, as to another's care.
2. To cease; desist.
—to give rise to To cause or result in.
—to give tongue To bark or bay: said of hunting dogs in pursuit.
—to give up
1. To surrender; cede; hand over.
2. To stop; cease.
3. To desist from as hopeless.
4. To lose all hope for, as a sick person.
5. To devote wholly: to give oneself up to art.
—noun The quality of being yielding; elasticity; the process or act of giving way. [Fusion of OE giefan and ON gefa]
—giv′er noun Synonyms (verb): bestow, cede, communicate, confer, deliver, furnish, grant, impart, supply. To give is primarily to transfer to another's possession or ownership without compensation; in its secondary sense in popular use, it is to put into another's possession by any means and on any terms whatever; a buyer may say “Give me the goods, and I will give you the money”; we speak of giving answers, information, etc., and often of giving what is not agreeable to the recipient, as blows, medicine, reproof. To grant is to put into one's possession in some formal way, or by authoritative act; as, Congress grants lands to a railroad corporation. Confer has a similar sense; as, to confer a degree or an honor; we grant a request or petition, but do not confer it. To impart is to give of that which one still, to a greater or less degree, retains; the teacher imparts instruction. To bestow is to give that of which the receiver stands in especial need; we bestow charity.