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definitions

gift

[gift]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gift ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

something given voluntarily without payment in return, as to show favor toward someone, honor an occasion, or make a gesture of assistance; present.
the act of giving.
something bestowed or acquired without any particular effort by the recipient or without its being earned: Those extra points he got in the game were a total gift.
a special ability or capacity; natural endowment; talent: the gift of saying the right thing at the right time.

verb (used with object)

to present with as a gift; bestow gifts upon; endow with.
to present (someone) with a gift: just the thing to gift the newlyweds.

Origin of gift

1125–75; Middle English < Old Norse gift; cognate with Old English gift (Middle English yift) marriage gift; akin to give
Related formsgift·less, adjective

Synonyms for gift

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gift ON THESAURUS.COM
1. donation, contribution, offering, benefaction, endowment, bounty, boon, largess, alms, gratuity, tip, premium, allowance, subsidy, bequest, legacy, inheritance, dowry. 4. faculty, aptitude, capability, bent, forte, genius, turn, knack.

Synonym study

1. See present2.

GIFT

[gift]

noun

gamete intrafallopian transfer: a laparoscopic process in which eggs are retrieved from an ovary by aspiration and inserted, along with sperm, into the fallopian tube of another woman.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for gift

premium, offering, grant, bonus, relief, tip, benefit, award, souvenir, subsidy, favor, donation, legacy, contribution, reward, endowment, tribute, present, allowance, giveaway

Examples from the Web for gift

Contemporary Examples of gift

Historical Examples of gift

  • If a chap's not born with the gift he's an ass to think he can acquire it.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • He can't acquire the gift, and no more can a chap acquire this gift.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • Thank you, Robert; I will accept your gift with thanks on one condition.

    Brave and Bold

    Horatio Alger

  • Two puppies were carried in a basket, one of which the Princess accepted as a gift.

    The Grand Old Man

    Richard B. Cook

  • Grace's face was alight with appreciation of Mrs. Gray's gift.

British Dictionary definitions for gift

gift

noun

something given; a present
a special aptitude, ability, or power; talent
the power or right to give or bestow (esp in the phrases in the gift of, in (someone's) gift)
the act or process of giving
look a gift-horse in the mouth (usually negative) to find fault with a free gift or chance benefit

verb (tr)

to present (something) as a gift to (a person)
(often foll by with) to present (someone) with a gift
rare to endow with; bestow
Derived Formsgiftless, adjective

Word Origin for gift

Old English gift payment for a wife, dowry; related to Old Norse gipt, Old High German gift, Gothic fragifts endowment, engagement; see give

GIFT

n acronym for

gamete intrafallopian transfer: a technique, similar to in vitro fertilization, that enables some women who are unable to conceive to bear children. Egg cells are removed from the woman's ovary, mixed with sperm, and introduced into one of her Fallopian tubes
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for gift
n.

mid-13c. (c.1100 in surnames), from a Scandinavian source, cf. Old Norse gift, gipt "gift, good luck," from Proto-Germanic *giftiz (cf. Old Saxon gift, Old Frisian jefte, Middle Dutch ghifte "gift," German Mitgift "dowry"), from PIE root *ghabh- "to give or receive" (see habit).

For German Gift "poison," see poison (n.). Old English cognate gift meant "bride-price, marriage gift (by the groom), dowry" (Old English noun for "giving, gift" was related giefu). Sense of "natural talent" is c.1300, perhaps from earlier sense of "inspiration" (late 12c.). As a verb from 16c., especially in gifted. As a verb, giftwrap (also gift-wrap) attested by 1936.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with gift

gift

In addition to the idiom beginning with gift

  • gift of gab

also see:

  • look a gift horse in the mouth
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.