give over
Britishverb
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(tr) to transfer, esp to the care or custody of another
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(tr) to assign or resign to a specific purpose or function
the day was given over to pleasure
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informal to cease (an activity)
give over fighting, will you!
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Hand over, entrust, as in They gave over all the papers to the library . [Late 1400s]
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Also, give oneself over . Devote or surrender to a particular purpose or use, as in The whole day was given over to merrymaking , or He gave himself over to grief . [Late 1400s]
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.
When Adams finally produced his personal phone the next day, it was locked with a new six-digit passcode that the mayor refused to give over to the feds, claiming that he could not remember it.
From Slate • Sep. 26, 2024
“It was complicated, I won’t lie. You really have to give over and say, ‘We’re going to treat your brand with a lot of respect,’” he says about Paramount.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 26, 2024
“Don’t give over all of your critical faculties to people in power no matter how admirable those people may appear to be,” he continued.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 27, 2024
Both shows love to play off what viewers “hope” will happen, and their disciplined refusal to give over to the more familiar contours of happy endings and redemption make them richer and more fraught.
From New York Times • May 29, 2023
But the eldest son was not ready to give over.
From "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck
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.
