give over

verb

gave over; given over; giving over; gives over

transitive verb

1

: cease

2

: entrust

3

a

: to yield without restraint or control : abandon

gave themselves over to laughter

b

: to set apart for a particular purpose or use

4

archaic : to pronounce incurable

intransitive verb

British : to cease an activity : stop

told him to give over and let me alone

—Brendan Behan

Synonyms

• break
• break off
• break up
• can [slang]
• cease
• cut off
• cut out
• desist (from)
• discontinue
• drop
• end
• halt
• knock off
• lay off
• leave off
• pack (up or in)
• quit
• shut off
• stop

Examples of give over in a Sentence

his wife suggested that he give over working such long hours if it was making him so unhappy

gave over his entire savings to an investor

Recent Examples on the Web

Baldoni has alleged that Lively used nearly any and all means to pressure him into giving over creative control of the film, including leveraging Swift’s status as one of the most famous people on Earth. —Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 10 May 2025

There will also be a session given over to the international success of the ever-popular comedy series Ghosts. —Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 29 Apr. 2025

The survey then looked at the number of saunas and wellness locations— including spas, hammams, health clubs, yoga studios, Arab baths, Roman baths, thermal spas and hair and nail salons—the number of parks and nature locations, and the total area given over to beaches, lakes and rivers. —Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025

There’s really this enormous idea of giving over control to machines that a lot of people are just uneasy about. —John Werner, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for give over

• carryover
• changeover
• crossover
• cutover
• flashover
• hangover
• holdover
• layover
• leftover
• makeover
• moreover
• passover