Definition of give up phrasal verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary


give up

 phrasal verb
phrasal verb Addiction
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Phrasal Verbs
 to stop trying to do something They gave up without a fight. She doesn't give up easily. I give up—tell me the answer. See related entries: Addiction
  1. 1(also give up on somebody especially in North American English) to believe that somebody is never going to arrive, get better, be found, etc. There you are at last! We'd given you up. We hadn't heard from him for so long, we'd given him up for dead.
  2. 2to stop having a relationship with somebody Why don't you give him up?
  1. 1  [no passive] to stop doing or having something She didn't give up work when she had the baby. We'd given up hope of ever having children. give up doing something You ought to give up smoking. More Like This Verbs usually followed by -ing forms avoid, consider, delay, deny, enjoy, escape, finish, give up, imagine, involve, mention, mind, miss, postpone, practise, resist, risk, suggestSee worksheet.
  2. 2to spend time on a task that you would normally spend on something else I gave up my weekend to help him paint his apartment.

give somethingup (to somebody)

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to hand something over to somebody else We had to give our passports up to the authorities. He gave up his seat to a pregnant woman (= stood up to allow her to sit down).

give somebody up


give somebody up to somebody


give yourself up


give yourself up to somebody

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to offer yourself/somebody to be captured After a week on the run he gave himself up to the police.