give way
Idioms-
Retreat or withdraw, as in The army gave way before the enemy . [Early 1500s]
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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]
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Collapse, fail, break down, as in The ladder gave way , or His health gave way under the strain . [Mid-1600s]
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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]
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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]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Elections will only be announced after the reforms give way to a new Electoral Council, the source believes.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Languid piano tunes give way to surging, keening tides of strings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
More than that, it’s a case about how private the data on your phone really is and when that privacy interest has to give way to the government’s law enforcement efforts.
From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026
“And just like that, those principles give way to power,” she writes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
I continued for another mile until the forest began to give way to trailers, a few small homes, and finally, an entire community hidden away in the woods.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
