give away
Britishverb
-
to donate or bestow as a gift, prize, etc
-
to sell very cheaply
-
to reveal or betray (esp in the phrases give the game or show away )
-
to fail to use (an opportunity) through folly or neglect
-
to present (a bride) formally to her husband in a marriage ceremony
-
informal to give up or abandon (something)
noun
-
a betrayal or disclosure of information, esp when unintentional
-
something given, esp with articles on sale, at little or no charge to increase sales, attract publicity, etc
-
journalism another name for freesheet
-
a radio or television programme characterized by the award of money and prizes
-
(modifier)
-
very cheap (esp in the phrase giveaway prices )
-
free of charge
a giveaway property magazine
-
-
Make a gift of, bestow, as in I decided to give away all my plants . [c. 1400]
-
Present a bride to the groom in a marriage ceremony, as in Her father gave Karen away . [c. 1700]
-
Reveal or make something known, often unintentionally; also, betray or expose someone. For example, She gave away her true feelings , or He gave away his accomplices . This idiom is sometimes put as give oneself away , as in If you don't want the family to know about your gambling, don't give yourself away by spending your winnings . [Late 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.
In 2015, Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, pledged to give away 99% of his Facebook shares over their lifetimes when they celebrated the birth of their first daughter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
Elon Musk said he would gift every American child a SpaceX share, after Anthropic and other billionaires pledged to give away some of their wealth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
The Met has partnered with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani to give away 70,000 tickets this season under the "Opera for All" program unveiled last month.
From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2026
She didn't want to give away too much about her performance, but confirmed it would feature tracks from her new studio album, Starrgirl, which was released in August.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
“I’m expecting some fine gentlemen like you have a lot of stuff you’d like to give away free.”
From "The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge" by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
