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What does "give" mean?

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In addition to the idioms beginning with give, also see hard time (give someone a); Indian giver; never give a sucker an even break; not care (give) a rap; not give someone the time of day; what's cooking (gives). Also see under idioms beginning with get and have.

See give in WNW Idioms

give and take

to exchange on an even basis

give away

to make a gift of; donate; bestow
in a marriage ceremony, to present (the bride) ritually to the bridegroom
â Informal to reveal, expose, or betray

give back

to return or restore

give forth

to send forth; emit; issue

give in

to hand in
to abandon a claim, fight, or argument; surrender; yield

give it to

Informal to punish; beat or scold

give off

to send forth or out; emit

give or take

plus or minus a price of $1.00, give or take a few cents

give out

to send forth or out; emit
to cause to be known; make public
to distribute
to become worn out or used up; fail to last

give over

to hand over
to stop; cease
to set apart for some purpose

give to understand (or believe, etc.)

to cause to understand (or believe, etc.)

give up

to hand over; turn over; surrender
to stop; cease
to admit failure and stop trying
to lose hope for; despair of
to sacrifice; devote wholly

See give in American Heritage Dictionary 4 Idioms

give a good account of (oneself)

To behave or perform creditably.

give birth to

To bear as offspring.
To be the origin of: a hobby that gave birth to a successful business.

give ground

To yield to a more powerful force; retreat.

give it to

Informal

To punish or reprimand severely: My parents really gave it to me for coming in late.

give or take

Plus or minus a small specified amount: The chalet is close to the road, give or take a few hundred yards.

give rise to

To be the cause or origin of; bring about.

give (someone) a hard time

To make life difficult for; harass.
To make fun of; tease.

give (someone) the eye

To look at admiringly or invitingly.

give the lie to

To show to be inaccurate or untrue.
To accuse of lying.

give up the ghost

To cease living or functioning; die.

give way

To retreat or withdraw.

To yield the right of way: gave way to an oncoming car.

To relinquish ascendancy or position: as day gives way slowly to night.

To collapse from or as if from physical pressure: The ladder gave way.

To yield to urging or demand; give in.

To abandon oneself: give way to hysteria.

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