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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

But he hadn't given up; the give-up quality had been completely forgotten when Casey's personality was being put together.

From The Trail of the White Mule by B. M. Bower

You are the one who stuck to her original career plan, built her own future independently, did not give up a six-figure job to follow your heart or ask family members for handouts or loans.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

While the government cannot match what some of these people earn, "we do not make the financial hurdle unnecessarily high" for them to give up their careers and join politics, he said.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

But award show producers weren’t totally ready to give up on comics altogether.

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

With sunset less than an hour away, the trappers give up on Doug and pivot to finding the clutch of kittens.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

“As my brother, you know I don’t give up easily. I need answers, so I’m going to ask you something, Jakob. And you must be straightforward with me. Do you recognize any of these…as names?”

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Related Words

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