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.
Periods of apparent advantage give way to new forms of competition.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026
Adjacent to the living area, there is an elegant dining room with wood-beamed ceilings and black glass doors doors the give way to the outside.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 21, 2026
With Cook now stepping aside, and a new team of leaders forming to take his place, assessing his legacy will soon give way to understanding the company’s different approach.
From Barron's • Apr. 20, 2026
But the doubt and discomfort give way to arguments by Hybe chairman Bang Si-hyuk, the man who picked the seven of them to create BTS.
From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026
My knees give way and he’s holding me up.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
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.
