gift

¹

[gift]

noun

1. something given voluntarily without payment in return, as to show favor toward someone, honor an occasion, or make a gesture of assistance; present.

   Synonyms: dowry, inheritance, legacy, bequest, subsidy, allowance, premium, tip, gratuity, alms, largesse, boon, bounty, endowment, benefaction, offering, contribution, donation

2. the act of giving.

3. something bestowed or acquired without any particular effort by the recipient or without its being earned.

   Those extra points he got in the game were a total gift.

4. a special ability or capacity; natural endowment; talent.

   the gift of saying the right thing at the right time.

   Synonyms: knack, turn, genius, forte, bent, capability, aptitude, faculty

verb (used with object)

1. to present with as a gift; bestow gifts upon; endow with.

2. to present (someone) with a gift.

   just the thing to gift the newlyweds.

GIFT

²

[gift]

noun

1. gamete intrafallopian transfer: a laparoscopic process in which eggs are retrieved from an ovary by aspiration and inserted, along with sperm, into the fallopian tube of another woman.

gift

¹

/ ɡɪft /

noun

1. something given; a present

2. a special aptitude, ability, or power; talent

3. the power or right to give or bestow (esp in the phrases in the gift of, in ( someone's ) gift )

4. the act or process of giving

5. (usually negative) to find fault with a free gift or chance benefit

verb

1. to present (something) as a gift to (a person)

2. (often foll by with) to present (someone) with a gift

3. rare,  to endow with; bestow

GIFT

²

/ ɡɪft /

acronym

1. gamete intrafallopian transfer: a technique, similar to in vitro fertilization, that enables some women who are unable to conceive to bear children. Egg cells are removed from the woman's ovary, mixed with sperm, and introduced into one of her Fallopian tubes

Other Word Forms

• giftless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of gift¹

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English, from Old Norse gift; cognate with Old English gift ( Middle English yift ) “marriage gift”; akin to give

Word History and Origins

Origin of gift¹

Old English gift payment for a wife, dowry; related to Old Norse gipt, Old High German gift, Gothic fragifts endowment, engagement; see _give

Idioms and Phrases

• look a gift horse in the mouth

Synonym Study

See present ².

Example Sentences

“They fought, they bled, they struggled, they died for us. They built this country for us. America, in all its glory, is their gift to us, handed down across the generations. It belongs to us. It’s our birthright, our heritage, our destiny. If America is everything and everyone, then it is nothing and no one at all. But we know that’s not true. America is not a ‘universal nation.’

From Slate

For someone to get you so effortlessly that even the mundane task of grocery shopping feels comforting is an anti-loneliness gift from the universe.

From Los Angeles Times

Ripken, it turned out, was a gift that kept on giving.

From Los Angeles Times

This is the gift “I Know This Much Is True” offers, a lengthy, lyrical vivisection of intertwined lives made of epic woe.

From Salon

“I Know This Much to Be True” does not protect the viewer from the main character’s pain, and Ruffalo’s transformation of that agony into art is a gift.

From Salon

Related Words

• allowance 
• award 
• benefit 
• bonus 
• contribution 
• donation 
• endowment 
• favor 
• giveaway 
• grant 
• legacy 
• offering 
• premium 
• present 
• relief 
• reward 
• souvenir 
• subsidy 
• tip 
• tribute