give
GIVE meaning: to provide, move, or yield; the word scores 8 points in Scrabble before board bonuses.
Verb 4 meanings
To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere.
“I gave him my coat.”
To provide, as, a service or a broadcast.
“They're giving my favorite show!”
To estimate or predict (a duration or probability) for (something).
“I give it ten minutes before he gives up.”
To yield or collapse under pressure or force.
“One pillar gave, then more, and suddenly the whole floor pancaked onto the floor below.”
Noun 1 meaning
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.”
Etymology
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”).
Similar and opposite words
GIVE is a familiar four-letter word with two useful sides: it works as a verb for providing or yielding, and as a noun for yielding under force. Its 8-point score comes mostly from V, worth 4 points; G adds 2, while I and E add 1 each. There are no anagrams of GIVE in the supported lists.
GIVE at a glance
- GIVE scores 8 Scrabble points before premium-square bonuses.
- V is the most valuable tile at 4 points; G is worth 2.
- The verb means to provide, move, or yield; the noun describes yielding under force.
- No anagrams use the same four letters in the supported lists.
- Thirteen one-letter neighbours include LIVE, FIVE, GAVE, and DIVE.
What is the GIVE meaning?
GIVE most often means to provide something to someone, but it also describes movement or yielding. A person gives an answer; a surface gives under pressure. The less familiar noun sense names that tendency to yield, which links the two uses.
The spelling is easy to remember by its sound, but its Scrabble value is less obvious: V supplies half the 8-point total. On a premium letter square, that tile is the key scoring opportunity, while placing GIVE across a word bonus can raise the whole play.
Which words differ from GIVE by one letter?
GIVE has 13 one-letter neighbours. Familiar choices include GAVE, which changes the second letter, and LIVE, FIVE, and DIVE, which each replace the opening G. That shared ending makes LIVE, FIVE, and DIVE especially easy to spot when you are checking a rack or a crossing play.
Other neighbours include HIVE, JIVE, GIBE, RIVE, and several less common forms. Rhymes extend beyond the one-letter group: the 12 listed rhymes include DRIVE, ALIVE, and MASSIVE. DRIVE rhymes with GIVE but is longer, so it is not a one-letter neighbour.
Rhymes with give
All rhymesOne letter away
Questions people ask
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