give
/ˈɡɪv/verb, noun
give is spelled G-I-V-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 513 times per million words in written English, the 188th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, give means “To transfer one's possession or holding of (something) to (someone)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in give?
| Letters | 4: G-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 513 times per million words; the 188th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is give?
Give appears 513 times per million words in written English, the 188th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce give?
- /ˈɡɪv/
- [ˈɡɪv]
Give has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-give.ogg, En-uk-to_give.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of give
- gives present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- giving participle, present
- gave past, singular, he/she/it, plural
- given participle, past
- giv
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does give mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To transfer one's possession or holding of (something) to (someone).
I gave him my coat.
- 2
To make a present or gift of.
I'm going to give my wife a necklace for her birthday.
- 3
To pledge.
I gave him my word that I'd protect his children.
- 4
To provide (something) to (someone), to allow or afford.
I gave them permission to miss tomorrow's class.
- 5
To cause (a sensation or feeling) to exist in (the specified person, or the target, audience, etc.).
It gives me a lot of pleasure to be here tonight.
- 6
slangTo give off (a certain vibe or appearance). (Compare giving.)
it's giving old Hollywood (vibes)
- 7
To carry out (a physical interaction) with (something).
I want to give you a kiss and a hug.
- 8
To pass (something) into (someone's hand, etc.).
Give me your hand.
noun
- 1
The amount of bending that something undergoes when a force is applied to it; a tendency to yield under pressure; resilience.
This chair doesn't have much give.
- 2
Alternative form of gyve.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Give in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | donner, bailler |
| German | geben, abgeben , nachgeben , Dehnbarkeit |
| Portuguese | dar , ceder |
| Spanish | dar, entregar, diñar , hundirse, dar de sí |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does give come from?
From Middle English given, yeven, yiven, ȝiven, from merger of Old English ġefan, ġeofan, ġiefan, ġifan, ġiofan, ġyfan (“to give”) and Old Norse gefa (“to give”), from Proto-Germanic *gebaną (“to give”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰebʰ- (“to give; to take”). Displaced yive, from Middle English yiven, of the same origin, from influence of Old Norse gefa.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).