give
Americanverb (used with object)
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gives,
present (3rd person singular)
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gave,
past
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given,
past participle
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giving
present participle
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to present voluntarily and without expecting compensation; bestow.
to give a birthday present to someone.
- Antonyms:
- receive
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to hand to someone.
Give me that plate, please.
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to place in someone's care.
If you give me your coat, I'll put it in the closet.
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to grant (permission, opportunity, etc.) to someone.
Give me a chance.
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to impart or communicate.
to give advice; to give a cold to someone.
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to set forth or show; present; offer.
He gave no reason for his lateness.
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to pay or transfer possession to another in exchange for something.
They gave five dollars for the picture. He gave me the car for $800.
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to furnish, provide, or proffer.
to give evidence; Let me give you my umbrella before you go out in this rain.
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to provide as an entertainment or social function.
to give a New Year's Eve party.
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to deal or administer.
to give a blow to someone; to give medicine to a patient.
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to put forth, emit, or utter; issue.
to give a cry; to give a command.
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to assign or admit as a basis of calculation or reasoning (usually used passively).
These facts being given, the argument makes sense.
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to produce, yield, or afford.
to give good results; 9 × 8 gives 72; The hen gave six eggs a week.
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to make, do, or perform.
to give a start; to give a lurch.
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to perform or present publicly.
to give a play; to give a concert.
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to cause; be responsible for (usually followed by an infinitive).
They gave me to understand that you would be there.
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to care about something to the value or extent of (something fanciful).
I don't give a hoot about his opinion.
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to relinquish or sacrifice.
to give one's life for a cause.
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to convey or transmit.
Give Aunt Betty my love.
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to assign or allot.
Give every man a full ration of biscuits. They gave him the name of “Joseph.”
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to bestow (the object of one's choice) upon, as if by providence.
Give me the wide open spaces anytime.
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to be connected with, as by a telephone operator.
Give me 235-7522.
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to present to an audience, as an entertainer, speaker, or act.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the governor of Texas.
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to attribute or ascribe.
to give the devil his due; After long study the critic gave the unsigned work to a minor impressionist.
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to cause or occasion.
She gives me a pain in the neck.
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to apply fully or freely.
He gives his free time to golf.
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to award by verdict or after consideration.
A decision was given for the defendant.
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to inflict as a punishment on another; punish by; impose a sentence of.
The judge gave him five years.
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to pledge, offer as a pledge, or execute and deliver.
He gave her his promise. Can you give bond?
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to propose as the subject of a toast (followed by an indirect object).
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you our country.
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to bear to a man; deliver (followed by an indirect object).
She gave him a beautiful baby boy.
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to sire upon a woman; father (followed by an indirect object).
He gave her two children in the first five years of marriage.
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to concede or grant, as a point in an argument.
verb (used without object)
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gives,
present (3rd person singular)
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gave,
past
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given,
past participle
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giving
present participle
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to make a gift or gifts; contribute.
to give to the United Way.
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to yield somewhat, as to influence or force; compromise.
We can't negotiate until each side is willing to give on some points.
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to yield somewhat when subjected to weight, force, pressure, etc..
A horsehair mattress doesn't give much.
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to collapse; break down; fall apart; fail.
The antique chair gave when I sat on it.
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to be warm and open in relationships with other persons.
a withdrawn person who doesn't know how to give.
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Informal. to divulge information.
Okay now, give! What happened?
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to afford a view or passage; face, open, or lead (usually followed by on, onto, etc.).
The window gives on the sea. This door gives onto the hallway.
noun
verb phrase
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give out
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to send out; emit.
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to make public; announce.
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to distribute; issue.
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to become exhausted.
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to become used up; fail.
The fuel gave out.
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to do or express something, especially unrestrainedly or easily.
to give out with a song.
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give birth to. birth.
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give over
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to put into the care of; transfer.
She gave over all her property to her daughter.
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to put an end to; stop.
They will never give over their impossible dreams.
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to indulge in without restraint.
She gave herself over to tears.
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to devote to a specified activity.
The day was given over to relaxing in the sun.
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give in
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to acknowledge defeat; yield.
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to hand in; deliver.
Please give in your timecards.
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give away
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to give as a present; bestow.
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to present (the bride) to the bridegroom in a marriage ceremony.
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to expose or betray (a person).
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to reveal (a confidence or secret, hidden motives, true feelings, etc.).
That remark gave away his real feelings.
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give of to devote or contribute generously of.
to give of oneself; to give of one's abundance.
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give off to put forth; emit.
The gardenia gives off a very strong fragrance.
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give up
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to abandon hope; despair.
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to desist from; renounce.
to give up smoking.
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to surrender; relinquish.
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to devote (oneself ) entirely to.
She gave herself up to her job and seldom saw her old friends.
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South Midland U.S. to consider; deem.
She's given up to be the kindest woman around here.
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give back to return (something), as to its owner; restore.
You haven't given back the books you borrowed from me.
idioms
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give and take,
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to compromise in order to cooperate.
A willingness to give and take is important for success in marriage.
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to exchange ideas.
an informal meeting in which there would be opportunities to give and take.
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give or take, plus or minus a specified amount; more or less.
It will cost $20, give or take a dollar or two.
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give rise to. rise.
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give way. way.
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give battle. battle.
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give it to, to reprimand or punish.
His father really gave it to him for coming home so late.
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give ground, to yield before superior force, as of arms or of reasoning.
verb
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(also intr) to present or deliver voluntarily (something that is one's own) to the permanent possession of another or others
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(often foll by for) to transfer (something that is one's own, esp money) to the possession of another as part of an exchange
to give fifty pounds for a painting
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to place in the temporary possession of another
I gave him my watch while I went swimming
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to grant, provide, or bestow
give me some advice
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to administer
to give a reprimand
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to award or attribute
to give blame, praise, etc
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to be a source of
he gives no trouble
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to impart or communicate
to give news
give a person a cold
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to utter or emit
to give a shout
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to perform, make, or do
the car gave a jolt and stopped
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to sacrifice or devote
he gave his life for his country
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to surrender
to give place to others
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to concede or yield
I will give you this game
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informal (intr) to happen
what gives?
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(often foll by to) to cause; lead
she gave me to believe that she would come
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(foll by for) to value (something) at
I don't give anything for his promises
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to perform or present as an entertainment
to give a play
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to propose as a toast
I give you the Queen
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(intr) to yield or break under force or pressure
this surface will give if you sit on it
his courage will never give
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to respond to verbal or bodily blows to at least an equal extent as those received
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to commence fighting
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(often foll by to)
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to bear (offspring)
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to produce, originate, or create (an idea, plan, etc)
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slang to greet or congratulate someone by slapping raised hands
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to draw back or retreat
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slang to applaud someone
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slang to have sex with someone
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to be the cause of
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informal I prefer
give me hot weather any day!
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plus or minus
three thousand people came, give or take a few hundred
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See way
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informal to punish or reprimand a person severely
noun
Synonym Usage
Give, confer, grant, present may mean that something concrete or abstract is bestowed on one person by another. Give is the general word: to give someone a book, permission, etc. Confer usually means to give an honor or a favor; it implies courteous and gracious giving: to confer a degree. Grant is limited to the idea of acceding to a request; it may apply to the bestowal of privileges, or the fulfillment of an expressed wish: to grant a charter, a prayer, permission, etc. Present, a more formal word than give, usually implies a certain ceremony in the giving: to present a citation to a regiment.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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givernoun
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regiveverb
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givableadjective
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giveableadjective
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nongivingadjective
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self-givingadjective
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ungiveableadjective
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ungivingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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givesimple
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givessimple
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have givenperfect
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has givenperfect
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am givingprogressive
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are givingprogressive
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is givingprogressive
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have been givingperfect progressive
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has been givingperfect progressive
Past
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gavesimple
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had givenperfect
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was givingprogressive
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were givingprogressive
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had been givingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of give
First recorded before 900; Middle English, from Old Norse gefa (compare Danish give ); replacing Middle English yeven, yiven, Old English gefan, giefan; cognate with Dutch geven, German geben, Gothic giban (the pronunciation of the Middle English and Old English forms with initial y- were replaced by Old Norse g- as early as 1200 in parts of the Danelaw ( def. ) )
Explanation
When you give something, you hand over possession to someone else. Give can also be a noun; a material that has give has the ability to stretch. Just as you can take many things, so can you give many things. You can give a gift, give a party, or give your car keys to friend, but just temporarily. If you give someone a chance, you let them have an opportunity. If you give your word, you make a promise. If give your hand, you marry — or at least hold hands. You can also give by communicating or passing something on — like your regards, or a cold.
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.
See Examples For:
"I wasn't prepared to give up on music so wanted to find a way of doing things differently so I could forge a career for myself."
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Instead of abruptly padlocking our door, as most restaurants do, we’d give everyone four months’ notice.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
Not even Netflix would give “The Peterson Show” the greenlight.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
While Holland refused to give any additional details about the couple’s wedding, he was happy to wax lyrical about his relationship with his co-star, telling Esquire that Zendaya is his “bedrock” and his “best friend.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
But she did give in and use her tribal citizenship twice: Once to help pay for grad school.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
The Telegraph said Lawson gives the Channel 4 series a "new lease of life", while Digital Spy agreed she was a "brilliant addition" to the line-up.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Selfless, naive Gretta gives Max her blessing and her rights, and almost immediately he betrays her with another woman.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
The new funding nevertheless gives Cyera firepower in dealmaking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
For instance, it could be that the explosion of digital technologies gives today’s young adults alternatives to in-person relationships.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
In December 1950, Dr. Frederick Johansen, Carville’s medical director, gives Joey permission to visit one of those friends in El Paso, Texas, for Christmas.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
At the start of arguably the most consequential week of their season, the Trojans certainly gave their best efforts not to make a big deal out of the big game with Oregon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
He gave agents a 50-page document naming dozens of lobbyists, congressional staffers and members of Congress who he said helped him trade cash for contracts.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
The search also gave researchers a chance to test a new technique for finding rare and previously unknown particles.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
Earlier, Guterres gave his farewell speech as UN secretary general, urging unnamed superpowers to recognise "that their power isn't so super".
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
It gave him some kind of twisted pleasure.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Uber would need to fully divest of its 13.5% stake in Grab, which “makes little strategic sense” given Foodpanda’s much smaller regional footprint and likely lower strategic value, Mittal says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
Ronika’s trauma plot, however, has to compete with Valerie’s related breakdown story, and neither is given its dramatic due.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
"Obviously when we come together, we'll speak openly about what we feel and what we feel is right. And yeah, that'll be given its time on Friday."
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
A $850,000 valuation does not sound like a one-woman operation with a list of third-party sitters who may or may not be available on any given day.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
It was Father’s train ticket, given at the moment itself.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
“They’re so connected, and it’s so fun to be a part of it and they’re always very gracious and giving in their performance too,” Rosenberg said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
Daniel Thomas, known to his supporters as Danny Tommo, had been filming the transfer from a yellow speedboat while giving commentary to a live stream audience of more than 15,000 people.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
“I want to be sure that the LLC proceeds with the ideas we discussed — giving scholarships and recognition to women in engineering, etc.,” wrote Mitchell.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
The current rules giving athletes the right to earn money from their name, image and likeness aren’t the same as giving them power over the institutions governing their careers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
I nodded, hoping my face wasn’t giving away how nauseous her words had just made me feel.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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.
