give up the ghost
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
King James Version of the Bible (1611), Gospel of Mark, 15:37.
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)
- (intransitive, idiomatic) To cease clinging to life; to die.
- 1611, King James Bible, Mark 15:37
- And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.
- 1611, King James Bible, Mark 15:37
- (intransitive, idiomatic, figuratively) To quit; to cease functioning.
- My old computer finally gave up the ghost the other day.
- (intransitive, with of) To cede a commitment to or identification with.
- 1993 February 8, “A Magical History Tour”, 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”, 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.
- 1993 February 8, “A Magical History Tour”, Time:
Synonyms[edit]
Translations[edit]
to die
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