Meaning & use
gift
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
Something you give to another person without payment, to show affection, thanks or respect.
Grammar: Countable: a birthday gift, three gifts.
Patterns
- a gift for someone
- a gift from someone
- give someone a gift
She wrapped a small gift for her teacher.
The watch was a gift from my grandfather.
Guests brought gifts for the baby.
nouncountable
A natural ability or talent, often one that seems special.
Grammar: Usually followed by for: a gift for languages.
Patterns
- a gift for something
- have the gift of something
He has a gift for explaining difficult ideas simply.
She was born with a gift for music.
The coach had the gift of making players believe in themselves.
verbtransitive
To give something as a present, especially something valuable, or to hand over without payment.
Grammar: Takes an object: she gifted the museum a painting.
Patterns
- gift someone something
- gift something to someone
The family gifted the library a rare collection of maps.
He was gifted a ticket to the final by a generous friend.
The company gifted laptops to every student in the program.
Word forms
| plural | gifts |
|---|---|
| third person singular | gifts |
| past tense | gifted |
| past participle | gifted |
| -ing form | gifting |
Common combinations
- birthday gift
- He chose a book as a birthday gift.
- give a gift
- It is polite to give a gift to your host.
- gift for
- She has a gift for painting portraits.
- gift wrap
- Please gift wrap this scarf.
- generous gift
- The charity received a generous gift.
- gift of the gab
- He has the gift of the gab and can talk to anyone.
Synonyms and how they differ
- present
- Present is the usual everyday word for something given on a special occasion, while gift can sound slightly more formal or generous.
- talent
- Talent is natural skill, but a gift suggests the ability is almost a blessing.
- donation
- A donation is given to a cause or organization and is not personal, unlike most gifts.
- flair
- Flair is a stylish natural ability, narrower than a gift.
Opposites
Word family
- gifted adjective
- having great natural ability
- giftedness noun
- the state of having exceptional ability
- regift verb
- to give a gift you received to someone else
- giftable adjective
- suitable to give as a present
Commonly confused: gift or present? gift or Gift (German)?
gift vs present
Present can mean a gift, but it also means current time or to introduce, so check the context.
gift vs Gift (German)
In German, Gift means poison, so the word has a very different meaning there.
Practice
Ana has a ___ for languages and picks them up quickly.
Choose one answer.
A gift for something means a natural talent for it. Present, donation and bonus do not fit that pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “gift”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.