Main meanings of gift in English

: gift¹ GIFT²

gift¹

Pronunciation /ɡɪft/

See synonyms for gift

Translate gift into Spanish

noun

1A thing given willingly to someone without payment; a present.
‘wedding gifts’
- ‘The couple decided to forego wedding presents and gifts totalling £900 were handed over to the hospital.’
- ‘The toasts were made, the wedding gifts presented, and finally we dined.’
- ‘I'll get you your final pay together as well as a bonus as a wedding gift, to help things along.’
- ‘Usually, if a woman wants to end the relationship, she returns the gift willingly.’
- ‘Any gifts or payments to purchasing agents, suppliers and the like should be made honestly and openly.’
- ‘It is basically for this reason that the appellant claims that the payments to him were gifts and did not attract tax.’
- ‘The king meant to present the elephant as a wedding gift to his nephew and future emperor of Europe, Maximilian II.’
- ‘An example was the wedding gift to one of his advisers' sons who was presented with a cheque for $50,000.’
- ‘Potter would write out her stories in an exercise book, paste in a few watercolours and a number of pen-and-ink sketches and then present it as a gift to a favoured child.’
- ‘Presenting the gift, Grant said she had heard a lot about the group since her return from England and decided to pay them a visit to learn even more.’
- ‘Certainly one can't have the receiver present while shopping for the gift!’
- ‘For something a little less bodacious, here's a neat online shop for fun gifts; I would recommend a new shower curtain.’
- ‘Newlyweds normally have a present list that includes crockery and toasters, but a new alternative could see couples giving goat herds to poor countries as wedding gifts.’
- ‘To help those on the hunt for suitable gifts for loved ones in the family, as well as for friends, shops selling gifts have begun displaying a variety of articles.’
- ‘Internet shopping for gifts is predicted to set new records this season, while traditional retailers have been bracing themselves for empty aisles.’
- ‘Her wedding gifts to her husband were spectacular.’
- ‘The plaques make ideal gifts for weddings and special occasions.’
- ‘The following morning, mercifully sunny, I shopped for gifts in the back streets and then headed for the airport.’
- ‘Why not visit the website and think about trouble-free shopping for your special gifts?’
- ‘With Christmas coming, she said, a lot of men save their money to shop for family gifts.’
present, donation, offering, contribution, handout, presentation, bestowal, largesse, alms, charity, bonus, award, premium, bounty, boon, favour, bequest, legacy, inheritance, settlement, subsidy, grant, endowment, benefaction
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1. 1.1An act of giving something as a present.
  ‘his mother's gift of a pen’
  ‘The theme behind the design is the gift of perfume for Mother's Day, but the execution is that of stylized glamour.’
  ‘Aside from the gift of time, mothers like to feel pampered.’
2. 1.2 informal A very easy task or unmissable opportunity.
  ‘that goal was an absolute gift’
  ‘For some, it's a gift - and the opportunity to recover while off from school or work.’
  ‘These were good examples of him being handed the gift of an easy win.’
  ‘And that sense of boundless opportunity is a gift that we must pass on to all who come after us.’
  ‘Nature works wonders at times, and having courgettes in season simultaneously with these little mushrooms is an absolute gift - they are a match made in heaven.’
  ‘Anything that retains water is an absolute gift in places like Tony's ranch, which gets only 13 inches of precipitation a year.’
  ‘A run out means an absolute gift to the opposition.’
  ‘To me, IVF is a real honour, it's an absolute gift to families, it really is.’
  ‘The current climate is an absolute gift to anyone trying to introduce a cull of civil rights.’
  ‘I had already been given a rare opportunity and gift.’
  ‘Rivett threw a wild, high pass over Munro's head to present Stuart Litter with an absolute gift.’
  easy task, easy job, child's play, five-finger exercise, gift, walkover, nothing, sinecure, gravy train
  View synonyms
2A natural ability or talent.
‘he has a gift for comedy’
- ‘Yet the core of Boyd's ability, the essence of his talent, is his gift for finishing.’
- ‘Advertising folks who do this best have a natural gift for empathizing with the customers they hope to seduce.’
- ‘She had a natural gift for it and has kept with it.’
- ‘Most importantly, she was completely focussed on the concert and didn't seem to take her natural gift for granted.’
- ‘He had a natural gift for the game, and did little else with his time.’
- ‘Sasha had a natural gift for anything mechanical.’
- ‘It's either a talent or a special gift, this ability to see things in that particular context.’
- ‘In terms of the whole range of human abilities, talents and gifts, no two of us are alike.’
- ‘Larson is a talented writer with a gift for surprising language, and an admirable impulse to show and not tell.’
- ‘In fact, no one could take his greatest assets from him - his self-confidence and his gift for self-promotion.’
- ‘As a comedy writer, she has a gift for acerbic insight - the kind of funny that hurts.’
- ‘She had a natural instinct and gift for moving in a sexy way when she was nude.’
- ‘Ray had a gift for bringing out the musical talent in so many young students and the annual shows were eagerly awaited, filling the Town Hall for a week of nights every Hallowe'en.’
- ‘His talent is not just a gift for judging what the public want to watch and listen to, but working it for all it's worth while it's hot.’
- ‘But he has developed a rare gift for drawing, and his talent is now being recognised nationally.’
- ‘She had a gift for insight, and she got to know me perhaps better than I got to know her.’
- ‘As a young boy he showed a remarkable gift for music and his family encouraged this talent.’
- ‘It's rare to find a stand-up with such a gift for characterisation or such original and well-researched material.’
- ‘It's just raw experience told by someone who has a gift for vivid detail, and occasional insight.’
- ‘Other people might have a gift for the graphic arts.’
talent, flair, aptitude, facility, knack, technique, touch, bent, ability, expertise, capacity, capability, power, faculty
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verb

[with object]

1Give (something) as a gift, especially formally or as a donation or bequest.
‘the company gifted 2,999 shares to a charity’
- ‘For those who wish to gift a pen to the loved one, it has introduced a red roller ball-pen in an attractive package, with Valentine hearts printed all over.’
- ‘Couples select a group of charities and each guest chooses to gift a donation to the charity of their choice.’
- ‘Rather, the goods passing hands were priceless jewels and ornaments gifted by foreign rulers, and at stake was the reputation and future of the monarchy.’
- ‘And when someone in the UK gifts a posy to a loved one this coming Valentine's, chances are that it will be from Bangalore.’
- ‘A green man, as he likes to call himself, Robin David says that he always gifts a tree on birthdays and other occasions.’
- ‘But if a parent gifts an asset which produces capital growth, any capital gain is taxed as the child's.’
- ‘However, the money is held within the foundation and it gifts the money annually.’
- ‘She is prevented from selling or gifting this property to a non-resident even if it is her husband.’
- ‘Some residents remembered Barnett gifting the piano in 1992.’
- ‘He was Labour's most generous donor in Scotland in 1999 and 2000, gifting it more than £20,000.’
- ‘In that sense, they are incapable of gifting the money they have.’
- ‘Workers in Yorkshire are gifting their employers more than £1.89 billion worth of unpaid overtime every year.’
- ‘The actor had requested his fans to show their appreciation by gifting articles like notebooks and geometry boxes to the needy.’
- ‘Instead of lending or gifting the money for a deposit, a parent buys a proportion of the property alongside their child.’
- ‘He surprised children at the venue by gifting them some toys that he purchased.’
- ‘At the age of 14 his parents gifted him a computer.’
- ‘Over 24 years ago, a friend gifted me a beautiful antique fan.’
present, give, bestow, confer, donate, contribute, endow, award, accord, grant
View synonyms
1. 1.1Present (someone) with a gift or gifts.
  ‘the queen gifted him with a heart-shaped brooch’
  ‘It was the last bottle of the champagne we were gifted with for our reception.’
  ‘We have no way of providing a new shelter unless someone or some organisation gifts us with a building.’
  ‘You are fêted by kings and presidents when you win an Olympic medal; you are gifted with bungalows and cars.’
  present, give, bestow, confer, donate, contribute, endow, award, accord, grant
  View synonyms
2. 1.2gift someone withEndow with (something)
  ‘man is gifted with a moral sense’
  ‘You can teach somebody and school them to be an actor but to be a very good actor you must have stage presence and Des has been gifted with that.’
  ‘He kept stoking the fire of his intellect and did a successful job of blending it with the artistic talent he has been gifted with to reach where he is today.’
  ‘Hailing from a musical family has gifted him with an ear for sound.’
  ‘Patience wasn't a virtue you were gifted with, was it?’
  ‘Patience was definitely not a virtue I wasn't gifted with, and although he had promised his friend's house was only a few minutes away I couldn't help but feel irritated.’
  ‘And I sat bolt upright, temporarily blinded from the result of the pressure of my arm on my eyes, but even if I was gifted with 20/20 vision, I wouldn't have been able to foresee what happened next.’
  ‘The corpse of a sunflower dangled out of a clay pot on the railing - Paula was not gifted with an especially green thumb.’
  ‘As well as a sparkling wit, Sir Harry was gifted with a powerful tenor voice which he put to good effect on many religious music shows which he presented.’
  ‘He was gifted with a mouth that works at 3,000 words per second when he needs it.’
  ‘He was gifted with a great eye and a quick pair of feet.’
3. 1.3 informal Inadvertently allow (an opponent) to have something.
  ‘the goalkeeper gifted Liverpool their last-minute winner’
  ‘A desperately poor pass from Jerry Collins gifted a try for them in the second quarter.’
  ‘A poor pass went to ground gifting a try to centre Tony Waite with Grayshon adding his second conversion with the last kick of the match.’
  ‘A goalkeeping error to gift a goal, a man dismissed, and a 2-1 defeat in their opening tie.’
  ‘The visitors' only first half problems were self-inflicted with Merris, like Pearson earlier, slightly fortunate not to be punished for gifting the ball to the opposition.’
  ‘But, as conditions deteriorated, a drizzle giving way to a steady downpour, so did the standard of play with a succession of knock-ons gifting both sides possession.’

Phrases

in the gift of

(of a Church living or official appointment) in the power of (someone) to award.
‘nine seats in parliament were now in his gift’
- ‘Labour delegates have it in their gift today to hold their leaders to account and uphold the cause of peace and self-determination.’
- ‘It's something he has had to deal with but, then, it is in his gift to do so.’
- ‘The row began when the church questioned whether the Queen had ever bestowed the highest honour in her gift, the Order of the Thistle, on a Catholic.’
- ‘He has 12 cabinet positions to give out, and a further 15 junior ministries in his gift, a total of 27 positions.’
- ‘All that she needs to do is appoint judges as part-timers, and then it is in her gift to convert them to full-timers, as and when a vacancy occurs, so that there are no more vacancies for some time.’
- ‘This appointment was largely in the gift of the Lord Advocate himself.’
- ‘Membership of Parliament was largely in the gift of the rich.’
- ‘The spokeswoman said: ‘It is entirely in the gift of the Queen.’’
- ‘To the consumer including the haulier and the farmer it is clear that if the price of crude oil is not in the gift of the government, the tax element is, and, therefore, they could change it.’
- ‘The type of honours he was bandying about are generally not even in the gift of politicians.’

look a gift horse in the mouth

usually with negative Find fault with something that has been received as a gift or favour.
- ‘they did not look the gift horse in the mouth when the opportunity for victory presented itself’
Origin
Earlier as look a given horse in the mouth prospective purchasers would often inspect the condition of a horse's teeth.