give way

Idioms  

1. Retreat or withdraw, as in The army gave way before the enemy . [Early 1500s]

2. Yield the right of way; also, relinquish ascendancy, as in The cars must give way to the parade , or The children were called inside as day gave way slowly to night . [Early 1700s]

3. Collapse, fail, break down, as in The ladder gave way , or His health gave way under the strain . [Mid-1600s]

4. Also, give way to . Yield to urging or demand, as in At the last minute he gave way and avoided a filibuster , or The owners gave way to their demands for a pay increase . [Mid-1700s]

5. Also, give way to . Abandon oneself, lose self-control, as in She gave way to hysteria , or Don't give way to despair . [First half of 1800s]

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Example Sentences

But the declines gave way to gains as the afternoon rolled on.

From Barron's

Outright splendor gives way to bold-faced promotion in an annex gallery, housed in MAD’s grand, soaring nave.

From The Wall Street Journal

Pictures appear to show that the structural integrity of a stretch of waterway in Whitchurch has completely given way, raising flooding fears.

From BBC

While Stokes was tight, Carse leaked 26 runs from three overs and gave way to Tongue, who enticed Head into a miscue to Crawley at deep square leg.

From BBC

With time, tents gave way to concrete buildings, with the football field representing one of the few open spaces in the camp's dense patchwork.

From Barron's

Related Words

• abate
• decline
• decrease
• depress
• dilute
• diminish
• dwindle
• halt
• impair
• lessen
• lower
• reduce
• sap
• soften
• undermine
• wane