Give Up | Meaning & Examples
Give up is one of the most common phrasal verbs in English. It has several meanings— including “to stop trying” and “to quit or sacrifice [something].” In each meaning of “give up,” the verb “give” has a figurative meaning rather than the literal meaning (“to offer” as in “Mom gives the best gifts”).
The rules for using “give up” are a bit different for each meaning. For example, “give up” for “to quit or sacrifice [something]” is a transitive verb, which means it must have a direct object. When “give up” means “to stop trying,” it’s an intransitive verb, which never acts upon a direct object.
The examples and tips below show how to use the different versions of “give up.” QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker is also a great resource for using “give up” correctly in your writing.
After looking for starfruit at five different stores, I have given up.
Angelina temporarily gave up acting to focus on her family.
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Give up meanings
The phrasal verb “give up” has several meanings, each with different grammar rules. The rules for some of the most common meanings are explained below.
To stop trying
One of the most common “give up” meanings is “to stop trying.” If you cease efforts toward something, you have given up. This version of “give up” is intransitive and does not take a direct object, so it’s not immediately followed by a noun. You can use the intransitive version of “give up” in at least three ways:
- At the end of a sentence, main clause, or dependent clause
- Followed by an one or more adverbs
- Followed by a prepositional phrase (most commonly “on” with a gerund like “trying” or another noun that functions as the object of the preposition)
The most successful people don’t give up very easily.
Wesley never gave up on marrying Princess Buttercup.
We tried to solve the riddle, but we gave up after a few hours.
To quit or sacrifice (something)
“Give up” can also be a transitive verb that means “to quit or sacrifice [something].” The direct object is the noun that the subject is giving up. The direct object is often a gerund—an “-ing” verb that functions as a noun—because an activity can be something you give up.
This version of “give up” is separable, so it has special rules for direct objects:
- If the direct object is a noun, it can go after “give” or after “up.”
- If the direct object is an object pronoun (e.g., “it” or “them”), it goes between “give” and “up.”
Dwight will never give his parking space up.
After Sarah sprained her ankle, she had to give up jogging for three weeks.
I don’t use social media because I gave it up last year.
To turn (someone) in to the police
When the police are searching for a person who’s been accused of a crime (or escaped jail), another person might “give them up to the police.” To “give (someone) up to the police” is the same as telling the police where to find and arrest the person. Accused people can also give themselves up to the police.
In this transitive, separable version of “give up,” the direct object is always a person and goes between “give” and “up.”
The thieves who stole Patrick’s trophies finally gave themselves up to the police.
To abandon (oneself) to an emotion or activity
This transitive version of “give up” only has a direct object that is one of these reflexive pronouns:
- Myself/ourselves
- Yourself/yourselves
- Himself/herself/themselves
The reflexive pronoun for “give (oneself) up” always goes between “give” and “up.” The subject of the sentence and the reflexive pronoun are the same person (or people).
Always follow this version of “give up” with a prepositional phrase that begins with “to.” The object of the preposition “to” is a feeling or activity.
Miles forgot to do his homework because he completely gave himself up to the new Zelda game.
Verb tenses for give up
“Give up” can be conjugated into different tenses just like other verbs. The following chart illustrates the different verb tenses for “give up.”
| Past | Present | Future | |
| Simple | Zach gave up his seat to a passenger with a baby. | My mom always gives chocolate up for Lent. | Julia will never give up her nursing career. |
| Progressive | I thought you were giving up caffeine. | I’ll try to beat Ganon one more time, but after that, I am giving up. | Jack will be giving up his vacation to start a new job. |
| Perfect | Gabriella had given up before she heard the good news. | If you have given up on this jigsaw puzzle, we should put it away. | By the end of this month, I will have given up all of my favorite sweets. |
| Perfect progressive | We had been giving up fast food before the new burger stand opened next door. | Miguel has been giving dairy up this past year. | By December, I will have been giving up my weekends for a full year. |
- To quit or sacrifice (something): If the direct object is a noun, it can go between “give” and “up” or after “up.” If it’s a pronoun, it must go between the verb and particle.
- To turn (someone) into the police: The direct object always goes between “give” and “up.”
- To abandon (oneself) to an activity: The direct object is always a reflexive pronoun (e.g., “myself”) between “give” and “up.”
Frequently asked questions about give up
- What are some synonyms for give up?
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The synonyms for give up depend on which meaning you’re using. “Give up” is a phrasal verb that has several possible meanings. Some of the most common synonyms are as follows:
- Quit (e.g., “I don’t know the answer, so I’m giving up on trying to guess”)
- Sacrifice (e.g., “Mary has to give up coffee”)
- Stop (e.g., “Grandpa gave up smoking many years ago”)
Have you tried QuillBot’s free paraphrasing tool for help with synonyms? It can instantly show you different ways to say the same thing.
- What does give up the ghost mean?
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Give up the ghost means “to stop functioning” or “to die”—usually in reference to a machine rather than a person. It’s an idiom because it has a figurative rather than a literal meaning. It also includes the phrasal verb “give up.”
Some examples of “give up the ghost” in sentences are:
- The old washing machine finally gave up the ghost last night.
- The minivan has completely given up the ghost, so we’re towing it to the junkyard.
“Give up the ghost” used to be an expression for the death of a person. In this context, ghost means “spirit,” and the expression originates from the idea of a spirit leaving the body after death.
When you’re trying to decide whether to use idioms like “give up the ghost,” try QuillBot’s free Paraphraser. It can show you different ways to say the same thing.
- What does give up on mean?
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Give up on is an idiom with at least three meanings in English:
- To stop trying to improve someone or stop expecting them to succeed (e.g., “After Micah missed another deadline, Professor Katz finally gave up on him”)
- To stop trying to achieve something (e.g., “I gave up on trying to make my own bread and just buy it from the store”)
- To stop expecting someone (who is very late) to arrive (e.g., “After Grace was 30 minutes late to the restaurant, we gave up on her and ordered our meals”)
In this expression, “give up” is a phrasal verb, and “on” is a preposition that begins a prepositional phrase (e.g., “on her” or “on trying to make my own bread”).
Some grammarians consider “give up on” a transitive, inseparable phrasal verb, which means that it’s always followed by a direct object. Either interpretation means that “give up on” is followed by a noun.
When you’re writing with phrasal verbs, the QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you with correct grammar and punctuation.
