What Does Give Away Mean?
Give away has three common meanings.
- Give for free: you let someone have something and you do not ask for money.
- Reveal by accident: you show a secret without meaning to.
- Lose a chance: in sport, you let the other team score because of a mistake.
We gave away our old toys to the school sale.
My laugh gave the surprise away.
The team gave away a goal in the last minute.
🗣️ Natural Examples
Giving for free:
Mum gave away the extra pumpkins to the neighbours.
The library is giving away old books today.
Revealing by accident:
Don't give the secret away.
His big smile gave him away.
Losing a chance:
We gave away the lead and lost the game.
✂️ Can You Separate It?
Yes. Give away is separable.
With a noun, both places are fine.
✅ Give away the books.
✅ Give the books away.
With it, him, her, them, the small word goes at the end.
✅ Give them away.
❌ Give away them.
🛠️ How to Use It
- Past tense: gave away. Past participle: given away.
- Giving things: you give away things (toys, books, tickets) and you give them to people. We gave our books away to the school.
- Giving a secret: you often give the secret away, or you give yourself away.
- How old is it? Records show give away in the sense of revealing a secret from 1878, and the noun giveaway as an accidental clue from 1882.
- The noun giveaway is one word. It can mean a free gift (a giveaway of free pencils) or a clue that shows the truth (The muddy shoes were a giveaway).
⚠️ Common Mistakes
Put the pronoun in the middle.
❌ Please don't give away it.
✅ Please don't give it away.
Do not mix it up with give up. Give up means to stop trying. Give away means to hand over or reveal.
❌ I gave away trying to open the jar.
✅ I gave up trying to open the jar.
The verb is two words. The noun is one.
✅ They give away free stickers.
✅ The stickers are a giveaway.
💬 In a Conversation
Sam: Don't tell Leo about the party. It's a surprise.
Mia: I won't give it away.
Sam: You are wearing a party hat.
Mia: Okay, the hat is a giveaway.
💡 The OddLingo Trick
Imagine you are holding a ball. If you give it away, it leaves your hands.
A toy, a secret and a goal can all leave your hands. The only difference is whether you wanted it to.
👯 Similar Expressions
- Give Up: stop trying. It is the one people mix up with give away.
- Give In: stop arguing and say yes.
- Spill the Beans: an idiom for telling a secret. It is not the same as give away, because you can spill the beans on purpose.
- hand out: give things to many people, like paper in class.