DictionaryAI

gift

GIFT/ɡɪft/

Pluralgifts

Verbgifts, gifting, gifted

7 meanings of gift

Practice

  1. 1
    presentnouncountable
    Something given to another person voluntarily, without payment or charge.

    He surprised his grandmother with a gift on her birthday.

    The museum received several valuable gifts from private collectors.

    UsageClose to present; gift sounds a little more formal and also suits donations to institutions.

    Similarpresent, donation, offering

  2. 2
    talentnouncountable
    A natural talent or ability for doing something particularly well.

    Her gift for storytelling kept the whole audience spellbound.

    He showed an unexpected gift for solving complex puzzles.

    UsageUsually a gift for + noun or -ing: a gift for storytelling.

    Similartalent, flair, knack, aptitude, ability

  3. 3
    give as presentverbtransitive
    To give something to another person as a present or donation.

    He gifted a rare first edition to the university library.

    Many donors gift shares of stock to reduce their taxes.

    UsageGift something to someone, or gift someone something: gifted a book to the library.

    Similargive, donate, present, bestow

  4. 4
    stroke of lucknouncountable
    Something gained by chance or luck, without any effort.

    The defender's mistake was a gift to the opposing striker.

    A sunny afternoon in November feels like an unexpected gift.

    UsageOften a gift to someone: the mistake was a gift to the striker.

    Similargodsend, windfall, boon, bonus

Less common meanings

  1. 5
    give by mistakeverbtransitive
    To give away or concede something easily.

    A careless pass gifted the visitors their winning point.

    Defenders who gift opponents free chances rarely keep their place.

    UsageCommon in sports reports: gift someone a goal, a point or a chance.

    Similarhand, give, concede

  2. 6
    power to givenoununcountable
    The act, right, or power of giving or bestowing something.

    The position remained in the gift of the local landowner for centuries.

    Such honors were once entirely in the gift of the monarch.

    UsageMostly in in the gift of: honors in the gift of the monarch.

  3. 7
    verbusually passivetransitive
    To provide a person with an inborn talent, ability, or special quality, most often in the passive (be gifted with).

    Genes may gift a sprinter with natural speed, but only years of training make a champion.

    The young pianist was gifted with an extraordinary memory for music.

    Similarendow, bless

Practice

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Origin

Proto-Germanic *giftiz ("gift") gave both Old English ġift, meaning "giving, dowry, wedding," and Old Norse gipt, meaning "gift, present, wedding," and the two together produced Middle English gift. In form it is basically give plus the suffix -t. Dutch gift and German Gift, which means "poison," are cognates.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 7 facts