gifts

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of gift.

   Guests piled their gifts on a long table near the entrance.

   The charity collected hundreds of gifts for families in need.

   Note

   One spelling serves two words: the noun's plural and the verb's present-tense form. As a plural it carries more than presents. Someone's gifts can be talents, as in a musician's many gifts, and the plural also covers things that come without effort. The medical acronym GIFT, for gamete intrafallopian transfer, is usually uncountable, so it seldom takes this form.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of gift.

   The foundation gifts scholarships to promising young artists each spring.

   She gifts handmade cards to her closest friends on their birthdays.

   Note

   The verb is always transitive. Someone gifts something, often to someone, or gifts a person something. Besides giving a present, it has a sharper second use: to hand something over too easily, as when a careless team gifts its opponents a goal. Context tells the two apart. Generosity is meant, or a costly mistake.

   A late defensive error gifts the visitors an easy equalizer.

   The museum gifts each new member a free annual pass.

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