give

Less common meanings

13. 13
    bendverbintransitive

    To yield, bend or collapse under force.

    Press hard and the panel will give a little.

    The rope held for a moment and then gave.

    UsageThe fuller phrase is give way: the floor gave way under them.

    Similaryield, bend, flex

    Oppositeresist

    Note

    The intransitive verb takes no object and no receiver: a pillar, a floor or trodden earth bends or stops holding. A little give can be welcome, as in a panel that flexes, but a structure that gives way has failed. The noun names the quality, as in a chair without much give.

14. 14
    springinessnoununcountable

    The amount something bends under force; its springiness or willingness to yield.

    A good running track has some give in it.

    You need a bit of give in a negotiation.

    UsageComes with some, much, little or no: there's not much give in this chair.

    Similarflexibility, elasticity, spring, springiness, play

    Oppositerigidity, stiffness

    Note

    Its physical and figurative uses line up exactly. A chair, metal under a striker's hammer in a 1945 memoir of the Crewe railway works, and a dogmatic belief can all lack it. In each case the noun names the capacity behind the verb of yielding. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The metalworking recollection appeared in 1945: Wiktionary identifies it as “Some Memories of Crewe Works—III,” by A Former Pupil, in Railway Magazine, January–February 1945, page 13. en.wiktionary.org
    • The cited recollection describes a striker working metal with very little give. en.wiktionary.org
15. 15
    concedeverbtransitive

    To concede or allow something for the sake of argument.

    I'll give you that the plan was clever.

    The plan is bold, I'll give you that much, but it costs too much.

    UsageMostly in I'll give you that, often followed by but and your real point.

    Similarconcede, grant, allow

    Note

    Milton uses an older pattern, give something for lost, meaning to concede that it is lost. "I give not heaven for lost" is therefore a refusal to admit defeat. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Milton uses the quoted wording in Paradise Lost, Book II; the speaker is Satan. gutenberg.org
    • The quotation illustrates refusing to concede that something is lost. en.wiktionary.org
16. 16
    estimateverb

    To estimate a duration or a probability for something.

    The doctors gave him a year at most.

    I'd give the plan a one in three chance.

    UsagePerson or thing first, then the time or chance: I give the plan a week.

17. 17
    pass on (illness)verb

    To cause or transmit a disease or condition.

    The whole class gave each other the flu.

    Standing all day can give you back trouble.

    Similarpass, transmit, cause

18. 18
    come across asverbslangtransitive

    To project a vibe or appearance; to resemble in style.

    The new logo is giving bank, not startup.

    That black coat is giving villain, and I love it.

    UsageUsually is giving + a style or type, with no vibe needed: it's giving old Hollywood.

    Similarchannel, serve

    Note

    Recent slang, at home in fashion and beauty writing of 2022 and 2023. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The slang construction is attested in beauty writing in 2022, including the Wednesday Addams salon example. en.wiktionary.org
    • The construction is attested in fashion writing in 2023, including the old Hollywood example. en.wiktionary.org
19. 19
    open ontoverbintransitive

    Of a door, window, or way, to lead or open onto a place.

    The French windows give onto the garden.

    A narrow passage gives onto the main road just past the farm.

    UsageUsually followed by onto (or on to, upon): the windows give onto the garden.

    Similaropen, lead

    Note

    A room, door or stile gives onto whatever lies beyond it. The verb is at home in property descriptions and walking guides, where it tells you what you reach by stepping through. Compare giving a view, where the window takes the scene as a direct object rather than opening onto it.

20. 20
    verbdatedtransitive

    To provide a view of.

    Columbus dwellers of Woodland Meadow Apts may not find themselves in a perfectly bucolic setting, as the residential complex gives onto a military defense logistics ground.

    2006, Pierre Lagayette, Nature et progrès: interactions

    His window gave the park.

    Similaroverlook, command, afford, offer

    Note

    An older way to say a window or house looks out on something, with the view as a bare object: his window gave the park. In current English the onto construction has largely taken its place. Even a modern writer describing a view says a complex gives onto a logistics ground. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The older view sense permits a direct object, as in the example 'his window gave the park'. en.wiktionary.org
    • A modern published example describes a residential complex as giving onto a logistics ground. en.wiktionary.org
21. 21
    pledgeverb

    To pledge or solemnly promise something.

    He gave his word and kept it.

    Never give a promise you can't keep.

    UsageSet phrase: give someone your word, meaning promise.

    Similarpledge

22. 22
    introduce (on stage)verb

    In the formula I give you..., to present someone to an audience, or to propose them as the subject of a toast.

    And now, I give you the winner of this year's prize.

    The host announced with a flourish, "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the band!"

    Similarpresent, introduce

    Note

    An announcer's formula, almost frozen in shape: a call to the room (ladies and gentlemen), then I give you, then the name. The first person and present tense are the point, because the speaker performs the handover as it happens. Raise a glass while saying the same words and they become a toast. Context alone decides whether applause or a drink follows.

23. 23
    verbtransitive

    With an infinitive, to cause or make someone do something.

    I was given to believe the house was sold.

    The minister's words were meant to give the public to understand that taxes would rise.

    UsageSurvives mainly in give someone to understand (or believe), often passive: I was given to understand it was sold.

    Similarlead

    Note

    The causative survives most visibly in the passive phrase given to understand, which Shakespeare already uses in The Merchant of Venice. There the duke is given to understand that Lorenzo and Jessica were seen together in a gondola. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Shakespeare uses the passive phrase 'given to understand' in The Merchant of Venice. folger.edu
    • The duke is informed that Lorenzo and Jessica were seen together in a gondola. folger.edu
24. 24
    verbobsolete

    To become soft or moist.

    Some moyst weather hath‥caused the powder to give and danke.

    1590, John Smyth, A Discourse concerning weapons

    Note

    A meaning met only in older writing, where damp makes a substance lose its firmness. In 1590 John Smyth complains of moist weather causing powder to give and dank. It shares the idea of yielding with giving under force, except that the yielding here is to moisture. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Give has a historical meaning of becoming soft or moist. en.wiktionary.org
    • The cited author published the relevant work in 1590. schulichwoolf.omeka.net
    • Smyth describes moist weather causing powder to give and dank; dank modernizes his spelling danke. en.wiktionary.org
25. 25
    verbobsolete

    To shed tears; to weep.

    Whose eyes do never give / But through lust and laughter.

    c. 1605, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”

    Note

    Tears here are yielded rather than shed: in Timon of Athens, eyes "do never give / But through lust and laughter." The use is obsolete, so a reader meeting it in old drama should understand "weep." Written today, it would simply be heard as giving way, which is not far from the feeling anyway. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • The quoted words occur in Timon of Athens; the speaker is Timon, addressing Flavius. The quotation's 'through' is a variant of 'thorough' in the Folger text. folgerdigitaltexts.org
    • The quoted wording with 'through' is attested, and 'give' has the obsolete meaning 'weep'. en.wiktionary.org
26. 26
    verbobsolete

    To have a foreboding; to suspect.

    My mind gives ye're reserv'd / To rob poor market women.

    c. 1608, John Webster, Appius and Virginia

    Note

    Here the mind is the subject and a suspicion is what it gives, as in Webster's "My mind gives ye're reserv'd / To rob poor market women." The noun misgiving keeps the idea alive, but the verb in this use is obsolete. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • The quotation is attributed to John Webster's Appius and Virginia, with the wording given in the item. en.wiktionary.org
    • In the dramatic passage, Virginius speaks the words, with 'my mind' as the subject of 'gives'. resources.warburg.sas.ac.uk
    • Misgiving preserves the related idea of suspicion or apprehension. en.wiktionary.org
    • The historical verb sense means to have a misgiving and is labelled obsolete. en.wiktionary.org
27. 27
    nounliterary

    An alternative form of gyve, a fetter or shackle, especially for the legs: a give on each ankle.