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give

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

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Letters

4 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "give", 4-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "give" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "give" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

give is aEnglishverb. It means: To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere. Pronounced /ɡɪv/. It ranks #185 in English word frequency. Often confused with GRE and gone.

Key facts for give
PropertyValue
Headwordgive
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɡɪv/
Letters4
Frequency rank#185
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of give in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for give is 4 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɡɪv/. Corpus data places it at rank #185 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language.Wiktionary records 28 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 5 documented wrong-spelling variants for give, with forms such as "ggive", "giev", and "givve". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "GRE", "gone", "glue", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Middle English given, from merger of Old English giefan (“to give”) and Old Norse gefa (“to give”), from Proto-Germanic *gebaną (“to give”). Displaced yive, from Middle English yiven, of the same origin, from influence of Old Norse gefa. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is give, spelled G-I-V-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere.
  2. 2
    To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere.
  3. 3
    To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere.
  4. 4
    To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere.
  5. 5
    To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere.
  6. 6
    To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere.
  7. 7
    To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere.
  8. 8
    To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere.
  9. 9
    To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere.
  10. 10
    To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere.
  11. 11
    To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere.
  12. 12
    To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere.
  13. 13
    To provide, as, a service or a broadcast.
  14. 14
    To estimate or predict (a duration or probability) for (something).
  15. 15
    To yield or collapse under pressure or force.
  16. 16
    To lead (onto or into).
  17. 17
    To provide a view of.
  18. 18
    To exhibit as a product or result; to produce; to yield.
  19. 19
    To cause; to make; used with the infinitive.
  20. 20
    To cause (someone) to have; produce in (someone); effectuate.
  21. 21
    To allow or admit by way of supposition; to concede.
  22. 22
    To attribute; to assign; to adjudge.
  23. 23
    To communicate or announce (advice, tidings, etc.); to pronounce or utter (an opinion, a judgment, a shout, etc.).
  24. 24
    To grant power, permission, destiny, etc. (especially to a person); to allot; to allow.
  25. 25
    To devote or apply (oneself).
  26. 26
    To become soft or moist.
  27. 27
    To shed tears; to weep.
  28. 28
    To have a misgiving.

Etymology

Middle English given, from merger of Old English giefan (“to give”) and Old Norse gefa (“to give”), from Proto-Germanic *gebaną (“to give”). Displaced yive, from Middle English yiven, of the same origin, from influence of Old Norse gefa.

Synonyms

accordaddassignawardbestowbequeathconfercontributedeliverdodonatefurnishgivegive awaygranthandhand inhand overmake overministerpasspresentproviderendersupplyturn inturn over

Antonyms

receivetake

This word in other languages

Spanish(Español)Portuguese(Português)French(Français)German(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ggive,giev,givve,gvie,igve

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for give

Misspelling Variants of "give"

ggive5giev4givve5gvie4igve4
Misspelling Variants of "give"

Frequency rank: #185 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "give"?
"give" is spelled G-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡɪv/.
What does "give" mean?
As a verb, "give" means: To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere.
What words are commonly confused with "give"?
"give" is commonly confused with "GRE", "gone", "glue". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "give"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "give" is /ɡɪv/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "give"?
Middle English given, from merger of Old English giefan (“to give”) and Old Norse gefa (“to give”), from Proto-Germanic *gebaną (“to give”). Displaced yive, from Middle English yiven, of the same origin, from influence of Old Norse gefa. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter G in our English index:

All "G" wordsABCDEFGHIJKL

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.