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Definition of give up in English:

give up

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phrasal verb

  • 1Cease making an effort; resign oneself to failure.

    ‘he wasn't the kind of man to give up easily’
    • ‘It's not like you to give up so easily on an assignment so early after starting school.’
    • ‘She says that it would be impossible to give up now after all the money and the effort.’
    • ‘As long as I don't think about it as giving up, it doesn't seem to be a problem.’
    • ‘They may have a setback with a third of the group leaving, but they showed no signs of giving up.’
    • ‘I see the same spirit in my daughter and now because of her there is no question of giving up.’
    • ‘I did think about giving up all together, but what little writing I do now focuses the mind.’
    • ‘England is famous for never giving up so why should we do it after a draw against Sweden?’
    • ‘Right now, giving up, and not throwing any money away, looks like the wiser option.’
    • ‘So we drove around the oval for a while before giving up and making a call to the restaurant.’
    • ‘Club members are bitter about the council's treatment but they are not giving up.’
    admit defeat, concede defeat, stop trying, call it a day, give in, surrender, capitulate, be beaten
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  • 2give oneself up, give up oneselfAllow oneself to be taken over by an emotion or addiction.

    • ‘he gave himself up to pleasure’
    luxuriate, bask, take pleasure, take satisfaction, indulge, indulge oneself, delight, revel, glory
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  • 3give something up, give up somethingPart with something that one would prefer to keep.

    ‘they have given up everything for their son’
    • ‘She enters into a pact with a doctor who helps her deliver the baby and give it up for adoption.’
    • ‘In both cases the love was more fully expressed because it involved a sacrifice - in the first story a treasured possession was given up, in the second it was a sacrifice of time and warmth.’
    • ‘‘For most ladies giving their child up for adoption is the biggest sacrifice you can make,’ Hielema said.’
    • ‘Health funding is under pressure, and some people are going to have to give things up in order that we can deliver on NHS commitments.’
    • ‘I would end up giving up everything just to bring that child into the world.’
    • ‘I too was an unmarried mother in the Sixties, giving up my baby girl for adoption.’
    • ‘If I lost any of these volumes I could certainly buy new copies, but to give them up altogether - to pack them in boxes and haul them down to the used bookstore for whatever cash they might bring - that is unthinkable.’
    • ‘Since they have been friends of ours for such a long time, it is very hard to abandon or give them up immediately.’
    1. 3.1Stop the habitual doing or consuming of something.
      ‘I've decided to give up drinking’
      • ‘Debbie likes a drink with dinner and I like several after dinner so we've decided to give it up during the week.’
      • ‘There are thousands of people who love their drink, and who wouldn't give it up for anything.’
      • ‘Getting rid of the sugar addresses Jacobson's most credible concerns about soft drinks without forcing people to give them up completely.’
      • ‘The event encourages smokers to kick the habit for 24 hours in hopes they'll give it up for good.’
      • ‘In terms of giving up smoking you have got to have a longer term strategy.’
      • ‘Keep reminding yourself of the health and other benefits of giving up smoking.’
      • ‘At this point, Williams was on verge of giving up acting and following the rest of her family into law.’
      • ‘Danny is giving up alcohol for the whole of this year, and is being joined by a host of celebrities for a day each.’
      • ‘The evidence shows that giving up smoking can improve your health, no matter how old you are.’
      • ‘If a patient has cardiovascular illness then giving up smoking is the best thing they could do.’
      stop, cease, discontinue, desist from, swear off, forbear from, abstain from, cut out, renounce, forswear, forgo, abandon, have done with
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  • 4give someone up, give up someoneDeliver a wanted person to the authorities.

    ‘Judas gave Jesus up to the Roman soldiers’
    • ‘a voice told him to come out and give himself up’
    • ‘James decides to give himself up and is brought before the court system.’
    • ‘Police had been trying for two days to persuade Carl Roland to give himself up.’
    • ‘Only the next morning, with armed troops surrounding the palace of justice, did the two give themselves up.’
    • ‘I suggest you give yourself up now, the punishment will be more lenient if you do.’
    • ‘She took the knife used for peeling fruit that she had carried out of the kitchen and stabbed him before running downstairs to give herself up at the police station.’

  • 5give someone up, give up someoneStop hoping that someone is still going to arrive.

    ‘oh, it's you—we'd almost given you up’
    • ‘I was about to give you up and go to bed.’
    • ‘Mrs General complained of a headache, and of being fatigued; and so, when we gave you up, she went to bed, dear.’
    • ‘Thank God you're O.K. - we'd given you up.’