Give up
phrasal verbBase give up · Past gave up · Past Participle given up · Present Participle giving up · 3rd person gives up
Definition
1. (phrasal verb) To stop trying to do something because you believe you cannot succeed.
2. (phrasal verb) To stop doing something you used to do regularly, especially a habit.
2. (phrasal verb) To stop doing something you used to do regularly, especially a habit.
Context Alive
You've been applying for jobs for three months now. Every week you send out applications, rewrite your CV, and practise for interviews. But the rejections keep coming — twenty-six so far. Your friend asks how the search is going and you say you're thinking about giving up. She looks at you and says, "You said the same thing last month, and then you got two callbacks the next week." You go home, open your laptop, and send out three more applications before bed.
Meanings
2 meanings 1 To Stop Trying (Phrasal Verb) Very Common ▼
This meaning is about quitting because you feel it's impossible or not worth the effort anymore. Imagine someone trying to assemble furniture without instructions — after an hour of confusion and missing screws, they give up and call a friend for help. This is the moment you decide you can't do it or don't want to keep trying. You might say "I gave up trying to fix it myself and took it to a repair shop", or someone could say "don't give up — you're almost there" to encourage someone who's struggling. Or picture a student staring at a maths problem for thirty minutes — they give up, skip it, and move on to the next question. The word suggests frustration and accepting failure.
✏️ Give up is one of the most common phrasal verbs in English. "Don't give up" and "never give up" are classic motivational phrases you'll hear everywhere — in films, songs, speeches, and everyday conversation. It's almost always the first phrasal verb learners pick up.
2 To Stop a Habit or Activity (Phrasal Verb) Very Common ▼
This meaning is about deliberately stopping something you've been doing regularly — usually a bad habit. Imagine someone who smokes a pack a day and one morning decides they're done — they give up smoking and throw their cigarettes in the bin. This is a conscious decision to quit an activity. You might say "she gave up sugar and lost five kilos in two months", or someone could say "he gave up his job to travel the world" about a big life change. Or think about someone who used to play football every weekend but gave it up when they had kids because they didn't have time anymore. The word suggests a permanent or long-term stop, not just a short break.
✏️ With habits, the pattern is give up + noun / -ing: give up smoking, give up chocolate, give up drinking. When talking about quitting a job or position, it sounds slightly more dramatic than "quit" or "leave" — it implies a sacrifice or a big decision.
Common Patterns
Basic Structures
give up → to stop trying — no object needed
The puzzle was impossible, so I gave up.
give up + noun / -ing → to stop doing a specific activity or habit
He gave up smoking after twenty years.
give up on + person / thing → to lose hope that someone or something will improve
The teacher never gave up on her struggling students.
Common Structures
don't / never give up → encouragement to keep going
Never give up — even when things look impossible.
give up hope → to stop believing something good will happen
After weeks without news, they started to give up hope.
give up + noun + for + noun → to sacrifice one thing for another
She gave up her career for her family.
Collocations
10 collocationsgive up smoking
to quit the habit of smoking cigarettes
give up hope
to stop believing that a good outcome is possible
give up trying
to stop making an effort
never give up
to keep fighting no matter what — motivational phrase
give up on someone
to stop believing someone can change or succeed
give up a job
to leave a position, usually for something else
give up easily
to quit without much effort or struggle
give up a seat
to let someone else sit where you were sitting
give up alcohol
to stop drinking alcohol
ready to give up
feeling close to quitting
Example Sentences
10 examples
1
She gave up learning the guitar because her fingers hurt too much.
She quit guitar lessons because the pain in her fingers was unbearable.
2
He gave up smoking five years ago and hasn't touched a cigarette since.
He quit cigarettes five years back and hasn't smoked once since then.
3
Don't give up now — you've come too far to quit.
Don't stop now — you've made too much progress to walk away.
4
The rescue team refused to give up even after twelve hours of searching.
The rescue crew kept going even after searching for half a day straight.
5
I've given up trying to explain this to him — he never listens.
I've stopped attempting to make him understand — he ignores everything I say.
6
She gave up her well-paid job to start a small bakery.
She left her high-salary position to open a little cake shop.
7
The police gave up the search after three weeks with no leads.
The police stopped looking after three weeks without any new information.
8
Please don't give up on me — I promise I'll do better.
Please don't lose faith in me — I swear I'll improve.
9
He gave up his seat on the bus to an elderly woman.
He stood up and offered his place on the bus to an older lady.
10
I was ready to give up, but then I got an email saying I passed.
I was about to quit, but then a message arrived telling me I'd made it.
Phrasal Verbs & Idioms
1 items
Idioms & Expressionsgive up the ghost — to stop working or functioning — used humorously about machines or objects
My old laptop finally gave up the ghost after eight years of use.
Synonyms & Antonyms
6 items
Synonymsquit
more informal and direct — very common in American English
abandon
stronger and more dramatic — suggests completely walking away
surrender
more formal — often used in military or competitive contexts
Antonymspersevere
to keep going despite difficulties — more formal
persist
to continue firmly even when it's hard
keep going
the most casual and direct opposite — everyday spoken English