Give Up

Give up usually means to stop trying to do something.

GIVE + UP = STOP TRYING?!

Nothing is being given to anyone. Nothing is moving upward. And yet "give up" means one thing: you're going to stop.

Meaning #1: Stop Trying

You give up when you decide to stop attempting something, usually because it's too hard, too frustrating, or no longer worth the effort.

I tried to solve the puzzle for an hour before I gave up.

The wifi kept disconnecting, so I gave up and read a book instead.

Don't give up on your first attempt. It usually gets easier.

Meaning #2: Stop Doing Something

Give up also means to stop a habit or an activity, permanently or for a while.

✅ give up smoking ✅ give up drinking coffee ✅ give up trying

When the thing you're stopping is an activity described with an -ing word, it stays attached to the whole phrase, like the examples above: you say give up smoking, never give smoking up.

With a plain noun, either order is fine:

✅ give up coffee ✅ give coffee up

And with a pronoun, the rule is absolute:

✅ give it up ❌ give up it

"I Give Up!"

Here's something Figure Out and Put Up With can't do: Give Up needs no object at all.

I give up.

That's a complete sentence. You're not giving up anything in particular — you're simply stopping. This is exactly what people say out loud when a game, a puzzle, or a problem finally beats them:

"What's the capital of Mongolia?" "I give up. Tell me!"

Can You Separate It?

Yes. Give up is separable: the thing you're stopping can go in the middle, or the whole phrase can stand alone with nothing after it.

With a noun, both places are fine. ✅ Give up the seat. ✅ Give the seat up.

With it, him, her, them, the small word must go in the middle. ✅ Give it up. ❌ Give up it.

Or use no object at all. ✅ I give up.

Compare Our Three Phrasal Verbs

FIGURE OUT — usually takes an object and can split. ✅ figure it out

PUT UP WITH — needs an object and stays together. ✅ put up with it

GIVE UP — can split, and can also stand alone. ✅ give it up ✅ I give up.

Three ordinary-looking phrasal verbs, three different grammar habits. That's why it's worth checking each one separately, instead of guessing from a pattern you learned with figure out or put up with.

Give Up vs. Give Up On

These look similar, but they don't mean quite the same thing.

• give up something: you stop doing or working on it.
• give up on someone/something: you lose faith or hope that the person or thing will improve or succeed.

I gave up the guitar after six months. (I stopped playing it.)

My teacher never gave up on me, even when my grades were terrible. (She kept believing I could do better.)

For some things, like a shared project, the two can overlap a little: I gave up the project simply says you stopped; I gave up on the project suggests you also stopped believing it would work. It's a difference of emphasis, not a strict rule for every sentence.

Secondary Meanings

You might also see give up a seat (let someone else have it: He gave up his seat for an elderly passenger) or give yourself up (surrender to the police: After three days, the suspect gave himself up).

Common Mistakes

Where does the pronoun go? In the middle. ❌ I can't give up it. ✅ I can't give it up.

Stopping a habit, or losing faith in someone? ❌ I gave up on smoking last year. ✅ I gave up smoking last year.

In a Conversation

Ravi: Still working on that crossword? Mei: Honestly? I give up. What's a six-letter word for "stubborn"? Ravi: No idea. Let's look it up.

Easy Way to Remember It

Still trying? Keep going. Stopped trying? You gave up.

Related Expressions

• quit: very close in meaning to give up, and a little more formal in some contexts. She quit her job to travel.
• give up on: covered above — losing faith, not just stopping an activity.

There's also give in (to stop resisting or agree to something you didn't want, like giving in to pressure), which is close enough to cause real confusion but different enough to deserve its own article one day.

Quick Check

1. "I've tried three times and I still can't open this jar. I ______." (give up / give up it)
2. Which is correct: "I can't give up it" or "I can't give it up"?
3. Your friend says, "My parents gave up on me ever tidying my room." Does this mean they stopped believing it would happen, or that they're still hopeful?

Answers

1. give up: it works here with no object at all.
2. "I can't give it up": the pronoun always goes in the middle.
3. They stopped believing it would happen. Give up on means losing faith, not just stopping an activity.