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.
to present with as a gift; bestow gifts upon; endow with.
to present (someone) with a gift.
just the thing to gift the newlyweds.
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
(usually negative) to find fault with a free gift or chance benefit
to present (something) as a gift to (a person)
(often foll by with) to present (someone) with a gift
rare to endow with; bestow
See present 2.
First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English, from Old Norse gift; cognate with Old English gift ( Middle English yift ) “marriage gift”; akin to give
A gift is an item that's given without any expectation of payment — it's a present. A gift may be the present you receive on your birthday or it may be a natural gift or talent you possess — like your gift for reading lips. People give gifts to mark special occasions, like birthdays, weddings, anniversaries. and some holidays. Sometimes tourists buy gifts while on vacation and bring them home to their friends and family. Another kind of gift is a special ability: "She has such a gift for learning languages." The root of gift is probably the Old Norse gipt or gift, which means both "gift" and "good luck."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He got the suit for $100 in L.A.’s fashion district and the loafers as a graduation gift from his mother.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026
“If somebody gave me Florsheims as a gift, I would never be a snob about it,” the staffer told me.
From Slate • Jun. 5, 2026
Both of those professions require analytical thinking - a gift Bielsa also possessed from childhood.
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
I haven’t really had much time to go out and just be in the public, which I think has been kind of a gift.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026
I asked how she lost her gift, and she said it was grown-up stuff and she didn’t want to talk about it.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
