gift

G2I1F4T1
UK, US/ɡɪft/

noun

Something given to another voluntarily, without charge.

“She had a gift for playing the flute.”

Similar
gift For beneficial actionsabilityaptitudeknacktalentstrengthfavorbenefaction
OriginMiddle English yifte ← Old English ġift ← Old Norse gipt →
Very commonScrabble 8
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

gift1

noungift (plural gifts)

plural gifts · alternative dialectal yift

  1. Something given to another voluntarily, without charge.

    She gave him a cell phone as a birthday gift.

    3 more examples

    “I thank you for the gift, Dr. Yueh,” Paul said, speaking formally. “It will be our secret. If there is a gift or favor you wish from me, please do not hesitate to ask.” "I . . . need for nothing," Yueh said.

    1965 October 1, Frank Herbert, “Book I: Dune”, in Dune, Philadelphia, Pa.: Chilton Book Company; [Toronto], Ont.: Thomas Nelson & Sons, →OCLC, page 40

    But now I know, but now I really know / Of only one thing I am truly very sure / Love is a gift, love is a gift

    1974, “But Now I Know”, Jean-Loup Dabadie (lyrics)performed by Jean Gabin

    She bought the model as a surprise gift for a friend who is a lifelong HST fan and railwayman, and who will soon be celebrating a milestone birthday.

    2021 October 20, “Stop & Examine”, in RAIL, number 942, page 71

    Synonyms: gift For beneficial actions, ability, aptitude, knack, talent, strength

  2. A talent or natural ability.

    She had a gift for playing the flute.

    1 more example

    “[…] it is not fair of you to bring against mankind double weapons! Dangerous enough you are as woman alone, without bringing to your aid those gifts of mind suited to problems which men have been accustomed to arrogate to themselves.”

    1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC
  3. Something gained incidentally, without effort.
  4. The act, right, or power of giving or bestowing.

    The office is in the gift of the President.

  5. AustraliaA footrace, often a short one with a prize, sometimes with a handicap system whereby runners start from different positions based on their past performance.

    [Someone who...] ran second in last year's gift believes the Bill is a good idea. […] Stawell Gift. […]

    1982, Victoria Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), page 2284
    3 more examples

    […] Stawell Gift Committee requested a special train for the gift's one hundredth anniversary celebration but […]

    1981, [Victoria] Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), volume 363, page 5391

    […] Stawell Gift, which is held during the Easter break. I recently attended the Stawell Gift, and I must pay tribute to the excellent manner in which the gift is run. I compliment the Stawell Athletic Club which runs the event so well […]

    1990, Victoria Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), page 865

    The Castlemaine Gift is an annual professional running event for all ages listed on the Victorian Athletic League calendar. The gift has over 150 years of rich history and has been a professional event for just over 100 years.

    c. 2026, Castlemaine Gift Athletics Carnival 2026 (Mount Alexander Shire Council)
verbgift (third-person singular simple present gifts, present participle gifting, simple past and past participle gifted)

present singular third person gifts · participle present gifting · participle past gifted · past gifted · alternative dialectal yift

  1. transitiveTo give as a gift or donation.
  2. transitiveTo give away, to concede easily.

    Chelsea threw away two points when substitute Salomon Kalou gifted Valencia a penalty five minutes from time with a needless handball.

    2011 September 28, Jon Smith, “Valencia 1 - 1 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport
    1 more example

    They drove on, every rise in the road lifting their sightline clear of the drystone dykes along the roadside, gifting glimpses of the firth and the islands, the blue peaks of Arran.

    2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 440

GIFT2

nounGIFT (usually uncountable, plural GIFTs)

plural GIFTs

  1. abbreviationacronymuncountableusuallymedicineAcronym of gamete intrafallopian transfer.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounSomething given to another voluntarily, without charge.

Similar
gift For beneficial actionsabilityaptitudeknacktalentstrength
Similar
favorbenefactionboonconcessiondonativefairinggrantpresenttithing
Broader
artifactmoneyobject
Narrower
bonusfavorfreebielagniappelargessofferingoblationpilonbaksheeshcumshawdashdouceurgracegratuitysweetenertipvailalmscontributiondoledonationhandoutsportulasportulegift cardgift certificategift voucher
Similar
contributedonategive

More synonyms by meaning

nounnatural abilities or qualities

Similar
endowmenttalentnatural endowment
Broader
natural ability

nounthe act of giving

Similar
giving
Broader
sharingshare-out

verbgive qualities or abilities to

Similar
endowindueempowerinvestendue
Broader
enable

verbgive as a present; make a gift of

Similar
givepresent
Broader
actmove
Also see
bequestbooncontributedouceurempowerendowendowmentenduefacultyflairfortegivegivinggratuityhandoutinvestmétierpresenttalent

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*giftiz“gift”
  2. Old Norsegipt“gift, present, wedding”
  3. Old Englishġift
  4. Middle Englishyifte
  5. Englishgift

From Middle English yifte, ȝift, partly from Old English ġift, ġyft (“giving, consideration, dowry, wedding”) and Old Norse gipt (“gift, present, wedding”); both from Proto-Germanic *giftiz (“gift”). Equivalent to give + -t (etymologically yive + -t). Cognates Cognate with West Frisian jefte (“gift”), Dutch gift (“gift”) and its doublet gif (“poison”), German Gift (“poison”), Luxembourgish Gëft (“poison”), Vilamovian gejft, gyjft (“poison”), Yiddish גיפֿט (gift, “poison”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish gift (“poison”), Icelandic gift (“gift”). Doublet of yift. Distantly related to English habit, from Latin habitus.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Old Norse

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans geskenk, present
  • geskenksomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • presentsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • kadosomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • gawetalent or natural ability
  • geskenksomething received incidentally, without effort
Ancient Greek δῶρον, δώρημα
  • δῶρον (dôron)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • δώρημα (dṓrēma)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • προπῑ́νω (propī́nō)(transitive) to give as a gift
Arabic هَدِيَّة, هدية
  • هَدِيَّة (hadiyya)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • هدية (hedeya)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • كادو (kādu)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • هَدِيَّة (hadiyya)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • هدية (hadiyya)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • كادو (kādu)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • هدية (hedíyi)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • كادو (kadō)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • هدية (hadiyye, hidiyye)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • قَرِيحَة (qarīḥa)talent or natural ability
  • أَهْدَى (ʔahdā)(transitive) to give as a gift
Basque opari
  • oparisomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
Bengali উপহার, তোফা
  • উপহার (upohar)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • তোফা (tōpha)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • উপঢৌকন (upôḍhoukôn)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • বকশিশ (bôkśiś)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • হাদিয়া (hadiẏa)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • সালামি (salami)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
Bulgarian пода́рък, дар
  • пода́рък (podárăk)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • дар (dar)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • да́рба (dárba)talent or natural ability
  • тала́нт (talánt)talent or natural ability
  • дарявам (darjavam)(transitive) to give as a gift
Catalan present, do
  • presentsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • dosomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • regalsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • dotalent or natural ability
  • dottalent or natural ability
  • donar(transitive) to give as a gift
  • oferir(transitive) to give as a gift
  • regalar(transitive) to give as a gift
Chinese лищин, ли
  • лищин (lixin)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • ли (li)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • 禮物 /礼物 (lé-bu̍t / lé-mi̍h / lé-mn̍gh)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
Chinese Cantonese 禮物 /礼物
  • 禮物 /礼物 (lai⁵ mat⁶)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
Chinese Mandarin 禮物 /礼物, 天才
  • 禮物 /礼物 (lǐwù)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • 天才 (tiāncái)talent or natural ability
  • 才能 (cáinéng)talent or natural ability
  • 贈送 /赠送 (zèngsòng)(transitive) to give as a gift
  • 送 (sòng)(transitive) to give as a gift
Czech dar, dárek
  • darsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • dáreksomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • dartalent or natural ability
  • vlohatalent or natural ability
  • darovat(transitive) to give as a gift
  • obdarovat(transitive) to give as a gift
  • obdarovávat(transitive) to give as a gift
Danish gave
  • gavesomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
Dutch gift, geschenk
  • giftsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • geschenksomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • presentjesomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • cadeausomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • gavetalent or natural ability
  • schenken(transitive) to give as a gift
  • cadeau doen(transitive) to give as a gift
Esperanto donaco, naturdono
  • donacosomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • naturdonotalent or natural ability
  • donacosomething received incidentally, without effort
Estonian kink, kingitus
  • kinksomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • kingitussomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • kinksomething received incidentally, without effort
  • kingitussomething received incidentally, without effort
  • kinkima(transitive) to give as a gift
Finnish lahja, lahja
  • lahjasomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • lahjatalent or natural ability
  • kykytalent or natural ability
  • lahjasomething received incidentally, without effort
  • sattumasomething received incidentally, without effort
  • lahjoittaa(transitive) to give as a gift
French présent, cadeau
  • présentsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • cadeausomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • donsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • dontalent or natural ability
  • talenttalent or natural ability
  • donner(transitive) to give as a gift
  • faire don de(transitive) to give as a gift
  • offrir(transitive) to give as a gift
German Geschenk, Präsent
  • Geschenksomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • Präsentsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • Spendesomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • Gabesomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • Begabungtalent or natural ability
  • Talenttalent or natural ability
  • Geschenksomething received incidentally, without effort
  • schenken(transitive) to give as a gift
Greek δώρο, δωρεά
  • δώρο (dóro)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • δωρεά (doreá)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • χάρισμα (chárisma)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • χάρισμα (chárisma)talent or natural ability
  • ταλέντο (talénto)talent or natural ability
  • δώρο (dóro)something received incidentally, without effort
  • δωρίζω (dorízo)(transitive) to give as a gift
  • χαρίζω (charízo)(transitive) to give as a gift
Hawaiian makana
  • makanasomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
Hebrew מַתָּנָה, שַׁי
  • מַתָּנָה (mataná)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • שַׁי (shay)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
Hindi उपहार, देन
  • उपहार (uphār)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • देन (den)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • बख़्शिश (baxśiś)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • सौग़ात (sauġāt)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • भेंट (bhẽṭ)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • हदिया (hadiyā)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
Hungarian ajándék, tehetség
  • ajándéksomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • tehetségtalent or natural ability
  • adottságtalent or natural ability
  • ajándéksomething received incidentally, without effort
  • ajándékoz(transitive) to give as a gift
Icelandic gjöf
  • gjöfsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
Indonesian hadiah, kado
  • hadiahsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • kadosomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
Iranian Persian هَدِیِه, پیشْکِش
  • هَدِیِه (hadiye)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • پیشْکِش (piškeš)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • کادو (kâdo)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • تُحْفِه (tohfe)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • بَخْشِش (baxšeš)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
Irish bronntanas, tabhartas
  • bronntanassomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • tabhartassomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • féirínsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • tíolacadhsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • tíolacadhtalent or natural ability
  • buatalent or natural ability
  • tallanntalent or natural ability
  • bronntanassomething received incidentally, without effort
  • tabhartassomething received incidentally, without effort
  • féirínsomething received incidentally, without effort
Italian regalo, dono
  • regalosomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • donosomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • presentesomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • donotalent or natural ability
  • talentotalent or natural ability
  • donosomething received incidentally, without effort
  • regalare(transitive) to give as a gift
  • donare(transitive) to give as a gift
Japanese 贈り物, 贈答品
  • 贈り物 (okurimono)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • 贈答品 (zōtōhin)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • プレゼント (purezento)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • ギフト (gifuto)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • 進物 (shinmotsu)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • 礼物 (reimotsu)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • 天分 (tenbun)talent or natural ability
  • 才能 (sainō)talent or natural ability
  • 天才 (tensai)talent or natural ability
Korean 선물, 예물
  • 선물 (seonmul)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • 예물 (yemul)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • 례물 (ryemul)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • 천분 (cheonbun)talent or natural ability
  • 재능 (jaeneung)talent or natural ability
  • 천재 (cheonjae)talent or natural ability
Latin dōnum, mūnus
  • dōnumsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • mūnussomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • xeniumsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • donumtalent or natural ability
  • munustalent or natural ability
  • dare(transitive) to give as a gift
  • dōnāre(transitive) to give as a gift
Latvian dāvana, talants
  • dāvanasomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • talantstalent or natural ability
  • spējastalent or natural ability
Lithuanian dovana
  • dovanasomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
Malay hadiah
  • hadiahsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
Māori koha, kōpare
  • kohasomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • kōparesomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • perehanasomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • takohasomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
Norwegian Bokmål gave, presang
  • gavesomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • presangsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • gavetalent or natural ability
Polish prezent, dar
  • prezentsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • darsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • podaruneksomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • podareksomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • dartalent or natural ability
  • talenttalent or natural ability
  • prezentsomething received incidentally, without effort
  • podarować(transitive) to give as a gift
  • sprezentować(transitive) to give as a gift
  • dawać w prezencie(transitive) to give as a gift
  • dać w prezencie(transitive) to give as a gift
Portuguese presente, prenda
  • presentesomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • prendasomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • domtalent or natural ability
  • talentotalent or natural ability
  • engenhotalent or natural ability
  • jeitotalent or natural ability
  • mãotalent or natural ability
  • dedotalent or natural ability
  • bossatalent or natural ability
  • períciatalent or natural ability
  • presentesomething received incidentally, without effort
  • dádivasomething received incidentally, without effort
  • dar de presente(transitive) to give as a gift
  • oferecer(transitive) to give as a gift
  • presentear(transitive) to give as a gift
Punjabi ਉਪਹਾਰ, ਤੋਹਫ਼ਾ
  • ਉਪਹਾਰ (upahār)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • ਤੋਹਫ਼ਾ (tohfā)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
Romanian cadou, dar
  • cadousomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • darsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • dartalent or natural ability
  • dărui(transitive) to give as a gift
Russian пода́рок, дар
  • пода́рок (podárok)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • дар (dar)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • презе́нт (prezént)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • гости́нец (gostínec)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • дар (dar)talent or natural ability
  • тала́нт (talánt)talent or natural ability
  • одарённость (odarjónnostʹ)talent or natural ability
  • пода́рок (podárok)something received incidentally, without effort
  • дари́ть (darítʹ)(transitive) to give as a gift
  • подари́ть (podarítʹ)(transitive) to give as a gift
Scottish Gaelic tiodhlac
  • tiodhlacsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
Slovak dar, darček
  • darsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • darčeksomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • nadanietalent or natural ability
  • talenttalent or natural ability
  • darovať(transitive) to give as a gift
Spanish regalo, obsequio
  • regalosomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • obsequiosomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • aguinaldosomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • agasajosomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • dontalent or natural ability
  • talentotalent or natural ability
  • regalar(transitive) to give as a gift
  • obsequiar(transitive) to give as a gift
Swahili zawadi, kipawa
  • zawadisomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • kipawatalent or natural ability
Swedish present, gåva
  • presentsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • gåvasomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • skänksomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • begåvningtalent or natural ability
  • skänka(transitive) to give as a gift
  • donera(transitive) to give as a gift
Tagalog regalo, bigay
  • regalosomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • bigaysomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • pasalubongsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • talentotalent or natural ability
  • magbigay(transitive) to give as a gift
  • magregalo(transitive) to give as a gift
Tamil பரிசு, அன்பளிப்பு
  • பரிசு (paricu)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • அன்பளிப்பு (aṉpaḷippu)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • திறமை (tiṟamai)talent or natural ability
  • கொடுப்பினை (koṭuppiṉai)something received incidentally, without effort
  • பரிசளி (paricaḷi)(transitive) to give as a gift
  • அன்பளி (aṉpaḷi)(transitive) to give as a gift
Thai ของขวัญ, ของกำนัล
  • ของขวัญ (kɔ̌ɔng-kwǎn)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • ของกำนัล (kɔ̌ɔng-gam-nan)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • ของฝาก (kɔ̌ɔng-fàak)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • กำนัล (gam-nan)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • พรสวรรค์ (pɔɔn-sà-wǎn)talent or natural ability
Turkish hediye, armağan
  • hediyesomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • armağansomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • yetenektalent or natural ability
  • kabiliyettalent or natural ability
  • bağışlamak(transitive) to give as a gift
  • ihsan etmek(transitive) to give as a gift
Ukrainian подару́нок, дару́нок
  • подару́нок (podarúnok)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • дару́нок (darúnok)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • дар (dar)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • рале́ць (ralécʹ)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • презе́нт (prezént)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • гости́нець (hostýnecʹ)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • дар (dar)talent or natural ability
  • талант (talant)talent or natural ability
  • дар (dar)something received incidentally, without effort
  • дарува́ти (daruváty)(transitive) to give as a gift
  • подарува́ти (podaruváty)(transitive) to give as a gift
Urdu تُحْفَہ, سَوغات
  • تُحْفَہ (tuhfa)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • سَوغات (sauġāt)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • ہَدِیَہ (hadiya)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • بَخْشِش (baxśiś)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • عَطِیَّہ ('atiyya)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • بھینْٹ (bhenṭ)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • اُپْہار (uphār)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • دین (den)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
Vietnamese quà, quà tặng
  • quàsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • quà tặngsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • quà biếusomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • tặng(transitive) to give as a gift
Welsh anrheg
  • anrhegsomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
Yiddish גאָב, מתּנה
  • גאָב (gob)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • מתּנה (matone)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • געשאַנק (geshank)something given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • שענקען (shenken)(transitive) to give as a gift
Zulu isipho, isiphiwo
  • isiphosomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • isiphiwosomething given to another voluntarily, without charge
  • umkhungosomething given to another voluntarily, without charge

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with gift

fifthliftswiftdriftthriftriftsiftadriftcliftmiffedshriftskiftniftget the driftgriftregiftshort shriftsniftsquiffedyift
All rhymes →

Anagrams

TGIF
Cite this entry
APA

gift. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gift

MLA

“gift.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gift. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gift,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gift.

Source: gift on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.