give up the ghost
The idiom 'give up the ghost' has biblical origins and is used in various contexts to describe cessation, whether of life, function, or effort.
🇺🇸 US Voice:
🇬🇧 UK Voice:
Definition
B2General
(figurative, informal)To die.
Example
- After a long battle with illness, he finally gave up the ghost.
B2Mechanical
(figurative, informal)To stop working or functioning.
Example
- My old car finally gave up the ghost on the highway.
B2General
(figurative, informal)To quit or abandon an effort.
Example
- After years of struggling, the company gave up the ghost and closed down.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "give up the ghost":
give upgive it upgive overcall it quitskick the bucketgive inlet gogo up in smokebite the dustabandon shipthrow up one's handsbreathe one's lastgo belly-upwave the white flagspirit awaycash in one's chipsgive outhang up one's bootslose one's bottlelet oneself gogive the go-by