gift

¹

[gift]

noun

1. something given voluntarily without payment in return, as to show favor toward someone, honor an occasion, or make a gesture of assistance; present.

   Synonyms: dowry, inheritance, legacy, bequest, subsidy, allowance, premium, tip, gratuity, alms, largesse, boon, bounty, endowment, benefaction, offering, contribution, donation

2. the act of giving.

3. 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.

4. a special ability or capacity; natural endowment; talent.

   the gift of saying the right thing at the right time.

   Synonyms: knack, turn, genius, forte, bent, capability, aptitude, faculty

verb (used with object)

1. to present with as a gift; bestow gifts upon; endow with.

2. to present (someone) with a gift.

   just the thing to gift the newlyweds.

GIFT

²

[gift]

noun

1. 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.

gift

¹

/ ɡɪft /

noun

1. something given; a present

2. a special aptitude, ability, or power; talent

3. the power or right to give or bestow (esp in the phrases in the gift of, in ( someone's ) gift )

4. the act or process of giving

5. (usually negative) to find fault with a free gift or chance benefit

verb

1. to present (something) as a gift to (a person)

2. (often foll by with) to present (someone) with a gift

3. rare,  to endow with; bestow

GIFT

²

/ ɡɪft /

acronym

1. 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

Other Word Forms

• giftless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of gift¹

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English, from Old Norse gift; cognate with Old English gift ( Middle English yift ) “marriage gift”; akin to give

Word History and Origins

Origin of gift¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

• look a gift horse in the mouth

Synonym Study

See present ².

Example Sentences

While Christo and Jeanne-Claude battled for 10 years to make their project a reality in the face of political reluctance, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo welcomed JR's plan calling it a "gift" to Paris.

Read more on Barron's

The state will also keep an eye out for gifts that could make an individual ineligible to receive benefits.

Read more on MarketWatch

Reggaeton is the backbeat of the Global South and thrills the North; “Tropicoqueta” was a gift of the music she adored growing up with, it belongs to the world now too.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The leader of one of South Korea's largest cult-like churches stood trial on Monday accused of bribing the country's former first lady with gifts including a designer handbag and a diamond necklace.

Read more on Barron's

More than any other generation, young adults are tightening their year-end spending budgets and shelling out less for gifts, survey data shows.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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