give up

verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"give-up" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“give up” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone).

Key facts for give up
PropertyValue
Headwordgive up
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “give up” sits in English frequency

give up falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for give up is 7 letters long, classified as a verb. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

give up has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is give up, spelled G-I-V-E- -U-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone).
  2. 2
    To relinquish (something)
  3. 3
    To have someone obtain (something) to one's disadvantage; to concede.
  4. 4
    To stop or quit (an activity, etc.).
  5. 5
    To abandon (someone or something)
  6. 6
    To lose hope concerning (someone or something)
  7. 7
    To admit defeat, capitulate; to desist for that reason.
  8. 8
    To execute a trade on behalf of another broker.
  9. 9
    To acknowledge, recognize as.
  10. 10
    To reveal (something).

This word in other languages

rendirse(Español)se rendre(Français)aufgeben(Deutsch)desistir(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "give up"?
"give up" is spelled G-I-V-E- -U-P.
What does "give up" mean?
As a verb, "give up" means: To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone).
What language does "give up" come from?
"give up" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Using “give up”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is G-I-V-E- -U-P - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list