Word.ws English Dictionary

gives the lie

gives the lie is the third-person singular simple present indicative of give the lie.

Meaning of give the lie

Verb

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

  1. (idiomatic, intransitive, transitive) To respond to an insult, accusation, or falsehood by saying the offender is lying, particularly in the context of provoking a challenge to a duel.
    • Say to the Court, it glowes,
      and shines like rotten wood;
      Say to the Church, it shewes
      whats good, and doth no good:
      If Church and Court reply,
      then giue them both the lye.c. 1592, Walter Raleigh, “The Lie”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), published 1608
  2. Used in give the lie to.

Questions about gives the lie

What is gives the lie the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Gives the lie is the third-person singular simple present indicative of give the lie.

Words near gives the lie in the dictionary

  1. gives the dirts
  2. gives the elbow
  3. gives the finger
  4. gives the floor
  5. gives the game away
  6. gives the lie
  7. gives the lie to
  8. gives the royal treatment
  9. gives the sack
  10. gives the stem
  11. gives the time of day

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: gives the lie (page history and authors); give the lie (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.

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