give
verb · noun
Simple meaning
Transfer possession of something concrete or abstract to somebody.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
givIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɡɪv
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
ditransitive
Transfer possession of something concrete or abstract to somebody
ditransitive
To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere.
To transfer one's possession or holding of (something) to (someone).
To make a present or gift of.
“What will you give her for her birthday?”
To provide (something) to (someone), to allow or afford.
To cause (a sensation or feeling) to exist in (the specified person, or the target, audience, etc).
noun
The amount of bending that something undergoes when a force is applied to it; a tendency to yield under pressure; resilience.
A shackle or fetter, especially for the leg.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Transfer possession of something concrete or abstract to somebody
Used this way, give is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use give
- “What will you give her for her birthday?”verb
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
An assumption that is taken for granted.
Someone who devotes himself completely.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
An exchange of views on some topic.
Make a gift of.
Pay back.
Cause to be born.
Provide care for.
Go after with the intent to catch.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.