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• give-up
  give-up

  noun

  something conceded or relinquished; concession.
• give up
  give up

  verb

  to abandon hope (for)

give-up

American  

[giv-uhp] / ˈgɪvˌʌp /

noun

1. something conceded or relinquished; concession.

   Labor has balked at any more give-ups in the contract talks.

2. Stock Exchange.

   1. a commission shared among two or more stockbrokers.

   2. a part of a commission that constitutes a single such share.

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give up British  

verb

1. to abandon hope (for)

2. (tr) to renounce (an activity, belief, etc)

   I have given up smoking

3. (tr) to relinquish or resign from

   he gave up the presidency

4. (tr; usually reflexive) to surrender

   the escaped convict gave himself up

5. (tr) to reveal or disclose (information)

6. (intr) to admit one's defeat or inability to do something

7. (tr; often passive or reflexive) to devote completely (to)

   she gave herself up to caring for the sick

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give up Idioms  

1. Surrender, as in The suspect gave himself up . [1100s]

2. Stop doing or performing something, as in They gave up the search , or She gave up smoking almost thirty years ago . [c. 1600]

3. Part with, relinquish, as in They gave up their New York apartment , or We gave up all hope of finding the lost tickets . [Mid-1500s]

4. Lose hope for, as in We had given you up as lost . [Late 1500s]

5. Admit defeat, as in I give up—what's the right answer? [c. 1600]

6. give up on . Abandon, lose one's faith in, as in I gave up on writing a novel , or She gave up on religion years ago . [ Colloquial ; second half of 1900s] Also see give oneself up to .

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Etymology

Origin of give-up

First recorded in 1965–70; noun use of verb phrase give up

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

give-up give up

That give-up would represent an implicit payment for the security imparted by the U.S. to the rest of the world.

From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026

"A real end," he said, which might include "a complete give-up".

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2025

But since that big scamper, Hasty has carried 10 times for 21 yards, with 12 of those coming on a third-and-28 give-up play against Denver in London.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 7, 2022

"There’s no give-up in this team," Kemp said.

From Fox News ● Aug. 30, 2021

Here the give-up, the negation of the lower passions, synchronizes with a take-up, the assertion of a beatitude.

From Autobiography of a Yogi by Yogananda, Paramahansa

“No matter how difficult it is,” the executive told me, “we must not give up on these two markets.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

"But you know what? We never give up. So I'm proud of what they did. We didn't give up until the very, very end. England was just a superior team."

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

A higher 2-year Treasury yield suggests investors aren’t ready to give up on the possibility of rate hikes.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026

"I give up, it's madness," one local called Lolo told AFP.

From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026

He had not meant to give up the anecdote about his obsession with The Mummy in his interview.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Related Words

• allowance
• compensation
• discount
• kickback
• payment
• rebate
• reimbursement
• repayment
• restitution