give out

British  

verb

1. (tr) to emit or discharge

2. (tr) to publish or make known

   the chairman gave out that he would resign

3. (tr) to hand out or distribute

   they gave out free chewing gum on the street

4. (intr) to become exhausted; fail

   the supply of candles gave out

5. informal to reprimand (someone) at length

6. (tr) cricket (of an umpire) to declare (a batsman) dismissed

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give out Idioms  

1. Allow to be known, declare publicly, as in They gave out that she was ill . [Mid-1300s]

2. Send forth, emit, as in The machine gave out a steady buzzing . [Mid-1400s]

3. Distribute, as in They gave out surplus food every week . [c. 1700]

4. Stop functioning, fail; also, become exhausted or used up. For example, The motor gave out suddenly , or My strength simply gave out . [First half of 1500s]

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Example Sentences

A man in his 60s, his eyebrows and hair going white, who planned to work until his body gave out and wondered how much longer he had.

From Los Angeles Times

Volunteers distributed clothes and lunch boxes at the open-air podium of a nearby mall, while a few people gave out flyers with information about missing people.

From Barron's

A scheme to provide free school meals to all state primary school children in London has given out 100 million lunches, City Hall says.

From BBC

“I was running out of time to do this. I saw the dimensions of the stage and my knees gave out.”

From Los Angeles Times

Jamie Smith is given out caught behind in controversial fashion on on day two of the first Ashes Test in Perth.

From BBC