give way meaning and definition

GIVE WAY verb

Definition of give way (verb)

1. move in order to make room for someone for something
   • "The park gave way to a supermarket"; "`Move over,' he told the crowd"
   • synonyms: ease up, give, move over, yield
2. break down, literally or metaphorically
   • "The wall collapsed"; "The business collapsed"; "The dam broke"; "The roof collapsed"; "The wall gave in"; "The roof finally gave under the weight of the ice"
   • synonyms: break, cave in, collapse, fall in, founder, give
3. end resistance, as under pressure or force
   • "The door yielded to repeated blows with a battering ram"
   • synonyms: yield
4. stop operating or functioning
   • "The engine finally went"; "The car died on the road"; "The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town"; "The coffee maker broke"; "The engine failed on the way to town"; "her eyesight went after the accident"
   • synonyms: break, break down, conk out, die, fail, give out, go, go bad