Meaning & use

giving up

phrase·Everyday

Stopping an effort to achieve or continue something, especially because it seems too difficult.

See it in a sentence

After three failed attempts, he considered giving up on the puzzle.

Giving up sugar for a month was harder than she expected.

A note on using this word

'Giving up' can mean abandoning a goal or, followed by a noun, renouncing a habit, as in 'giving up smoking.'

Words with a similar meaning

quittingabandoning

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

perseveringpersisting

Make it your own

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