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• give-and-take
  give-and-take

  noun

  the practice of dealing by compromise or mutual concession; cooperation.
• give and take
  give and take

  The practice of compromise, as in Every contract involves some give and take . This expression was first recorded in 1778, although the verbal idiom, to give and take , was used from the early 1500s.

give-and-take

American  

[giv-uhn-teyk] / ˈgɪv ənˈteɪk /

noun

1. the practice of dealing by compromise or mutual concession; cooperation.

2. good-natured exchange of talk, ideas, etc.

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give-and-take British  

noun

1. mutual concessions, shared benefits, and cooperation

2. a smoothly flowing exchange of ideas and talk

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verb

1. to make mutual concessions

give and take Idioms  

1. The practice of compromise, as in Every contract involves some give and take . This expression was first recorded in 1778, although the verbal idiom, to give and take , was used from the early 1500s.

2. Lively exchange of ideas or conversation, as in The legislature is famous for raucous give and take . [Second half of 1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of give-and-take

First recorded in 1760–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

give-and-take give and take

She guides her clients to prompt AI to engage in the natural give-and-take of a conversation instead of asking it to generate a full script.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

Every member of this cast holds their own, granted, but Morgan and Radcliffe’s onscreen give-and-take earns Arthur’s slow, steady acceptance into Reggie’s weird, lovely family dynamic.

From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026

The give-and-take over bringing state workers into the office is playing out as public agencies take different approaches to remote work since the pandemic.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 22, 2026

The European Union, with its cumbersome culture of consensus-building and give-and-take, was the most elaborate expression of that political way of life.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 19, 2026

The give-and-take of language is something like warfare.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

Then, on a hot D.C. morning, usually in June, extremely consequential opinions pop up on the court’s website that give and take the rights of millions of Americans.

From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2026

Sam and Mary give and take in equal measure, wrapped in a continuum made from red silk.

From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2026

Guardiola appreciates those that give and take continuously, but if that is not clearly expressed, relationships can fracture even without a clear conflict.

From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026

There’s a lesson there, though, in the never-ending give and take between popular folk and commercial pop music.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 2026

She was more accustomed to talking with babies than anyone else, and sometimes she forgot that humans over the age of one tended to expect more give and take in their conversations.

From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Related Words

• banter
• reciprocity