4)to give up the ghost

give up the ghost

• 1.1 Etymology
• 1.2 Pronunciation
• 1.3.1 Translations
• 1.4 See also

English [ edit ]

Etymology [ edit ].

Literally, to release one's spirit or soul from the body at death. From Middle English " gaf up þe gost ", " ʒave up þe gost ", from Old English phrases as " hēo āġeaf hire gāst " ( literally , "she gave up her ghost [spirit]"), " þæt iċ gāst mīnne āġifan mōte " ( literally , "that I must give up my ghost [spirit]"). Compare German den Geist aufgeben and Dutch de geest geven .

Pronunciation [ edit ]

Verb [ edit ].

give up the ghost ( third-person singular simple present gives up the ghost , present participle giving up the ghost , simple past gave up the ghost , past participle given up the ghost )

• 1611 , The Holy Bible,   [ … ] ( King James Version ), London: [ … ] Robert Barker ,   [ … ] , →OCLC , Mark 15:37 : And Ieſus cryed with a loude voice, and gaue vp the ghoſt .
• ( intransitive , idiomatic , figurative ) To quit ; to cease functioning. My old computer finally gave up the ghost the other day.
• 1993 February 8, “A Magical History Tour”, in Time : But McCartney, 50, is hardly ready to give up the ghost of his creative past.
• 1995 , Bad Boys : Burnett holds the door while Lowrey holds Francine. She's broken, crying, and giving up the ghost of her past.
• 2000 January 14, Kevin Maney, “Gates closes an era Microsoft prepares to lay out a road map”, in USA Today : Its Windows CE, ostensibly for consumer electronics, is flailing, largely because Microsoft has taken a PC mentality to develop CE, unable to give up the ghost of its heritage.

Translations [ edit ]

See also [ edit ].

• draw one's last breath

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Synonyms of give up the ghost

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Thesaurus Definition of give up the ghost

Synonyms & Similar Words

• buy the farm
• bite the dust
• kick the bucket

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Thesaurus Entries Near give up the ghost

give up the ghost

give up (to)

Cite this Entry

“Give up the ghost.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/give%20up%20the%20ghost. Accessed 23 Oct. 2023.

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