Rate this phrase:5.0 / 1 vote

give up the ghost

To quit; to cease functioning.

Etymology:

  • Attested since the Old English period.
326 Views

My old computer finally gave up the ghost the other day.

Submitted on July 07, 2010

Additional definitions for 'give up the ghost':

give up the ghostTo cease clinging to life; to die.
give up the ghostTo cede a commitment to or identification with.
Give Up the GhostStop trying or give up when you know it is useless and you will not succeed
See them all »

Translation

Find a translation for the give up the ghost phrase in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to give up the ghost

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this give up the ghost phrase with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this give up the ghost definition to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "give up the ghost." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/give-up-the-ghost_12657>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    I wouldn't eat that; better safe than _______.
    A sorry
    B worried
    C hungry
    D at risk

    Browse Phrases.com