Word.ws English Dictionary

given

Syllables: giv·en/ˈɡɪvən/

given is the past participle of give.

Adjective

given (comparative more given, superlative most given)

  1. Already arranged.
    • If eventually we can't make it at the given time, we'll phone you to let you know, don't worry.
  2. Currently discussed.
  3. Particular, specific.
    • No more than three people can be in that space at a given time.
    • If, therefore, the amount of the annual importation into Europe can be known, and the relative proportion of the foreign commerce of the several nations by which it can be distributed can be ascertained, they give a rule sufficiently true, to ascertain the quantity of money which ought to be found...1791, Thomas Paine, “Miscellaneous Chapter”, in Rights of Man
  4. Assumed as fact or hypothesis.
    • Given that we will get the resources, what do we want to achieve?
    • Example. Given a Derby Prophet, who has sent 3 different winners to 3 different betting-men, and given that none of the three horses are placed. Find the total Loss incurred by the three men (α) in money, (β) in temper.1874, Lewis Carroll, “Chapter II: Dynamics of a Particle”, in The Dynamics of a Parti-cle, page 19
  5. Prone, disposed.
    • He was given to taking a couple of glasses of port at his club.

Meaning of give

Verb

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

  1. (ditransitive) To transfer one's possession or holding of (something) to (someone).
    • I gave him my coat.
    Antonyms:
    get, obtain, receive, take
  2. (ditransitive) To make a present or gift of.
    • I'm going to give my wife a necklace for her birthday.
  3. (ditransitive) To pledge.
    • I gave him my word that I'd protect his children.
  4. (ditransitive) To provide (something) to (someone), to allow or afford.
    • I gave them permission to miss tomorrow's class.
  5. (ditransitive) To cause (a sensation or feeling) to exist in (the specified person, or the target, audience, etc.).
    • It gives me a lot of pleasure to be here tonight.
  6. (ditransitive, slang, transitive) To give off (a certain vibe or appearance). (Compare giving.)
    • it's giving old Hollywood (vibes)

See all 29 meanings of give

Preposition

given

  1. Considering; taking into account.
    • Given the current situation, I don't think that's possible.

Noun

given (plural givens)

  1. A condition that is assumed to be true without further evaluation.
    • When evaluating this math problem, don't forget to read the givens.

Proper noun capitalized: Given

Given (plural Givens)

  1. A surname.

Forms of given

Verb
alternative poetic (obsolete)giv'n
Noun
pluralgivens
Adjective
comparativemore given
superlativemost given
Proper noun
pluralGivens
alternative formGivhan

Origin of given

Morphologically give + -n.

Words formed from given

Phrases with given

172 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with given

Questions about given

What does given mean?
Given means considering; taking into account.
What is given the past participle of?
Given is the past participle of give.
What part of speech is given?
Given can be a preposition, a noun, an adjective or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce given?
Given is pronounced /ˈɡɪvən/.

Words near given in the dictionary

  1. giveback
  2. givebacks
  3. gived
  4. givee
  5. givees
  6. given
  7. given 110%
  8. given a bad name
  9. given a crap
  10. given a damn
  11. given a darn

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: given (page history and authors); Given (page history and authors); give (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-given.ogg.

Cite this entry: “given.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/given. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.