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.
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
Spare guitar chords give way to a female voice that sounds unpolished but beautiful: “I want to lay with you/ In an open field/ Where yellow flowers are suns of Earth.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
By the end of the 22nd century, death and destruction caused by AI give way to an Earth free of poverty, hunger, disease, and war.
From Barron's • Mar. 2, 2026
“But we think that geopolitical fears will give way to weak fundamentals.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026
As he emerged into the sun, he felt something in his legs give way.
From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
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.
