give up the ghost

verb

To cease clinging to life; to die.

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

Similar
yield up the ghostyield the ghostassume room temperatureauger inbe called homebe gathered to one's fathersbe like the the Onebe no more
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Meanings

verbgive up the ghost (third-person singular simple present gives up the ghost, present participle giving up the ghost, simple past gave up the ghost, past participle given up the ghost)

present singular third person gives up the ghost · participle present giving up the ghost · past gave up the ghost · participle past given up the ghost

  1. idiomaticintransitiveTo cease clinging to life; to die.

    And Ieſus cryed with a loude voice, and gaue vp the ghoſt.

    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Mark 15:37

    Synonyms: yield up the ghost, yield the ghost, assume room temperature, auger in, be called home, be gathered to one's fathers, be like the the One, be no more

  2. figurativelyidiomaticintransitiveTo quit; to cease functioning.

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

    2 more examples

    On the long 1 in 100 ascent from Staveley to Heath she nearly stalled, and having taken 67¼ min. to cover the 38.2 miles to Nottingham instead of the 51 min. scheduled she gave up the ghost, and came off the train.

    1960 April 28, O. S. Nock, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 271 ("she" refers to a locomotive)

    We've got a problem. A big one. The controller chip for our water purification system has given up the ghost. We can't make another one and the process is too complicated for a work-around system. Simply put, we're running out of drinking water. No water, no Vault.

    1997 October 10, Interplay Productions, Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game, v1.1, spoken by Vault 13 Overseer (Kenneth Mars), Irvine, California: Interplay Productions, →OCLC, Windows, scene: Overseer Briefing
  3. intransitiveTo cede a commitment to or identification with.

    But McCartney, 50, is hardly ready to give up the ghost of his creative past.

    1993 February 8, “A Magical History Tour”, in Time
    2 more examples

    Burnett holds the door while Lowrey holds Francine. She's broken, crying, and giving up the ghost of her past.

    1995, Bad Boys

    Its Windows CE, ostensibly for consumer electronics, is flailing, largely because Microsoft has taken a PC mentality to develop CE, unable to give up the ghost of its heritage.

    2000 January 14, Kevin Maney, “Gates closes an era Microsoft prepares to lay out a road map”, in USA Today

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo cease clinging to life; to die.

Similar
yield up the ghostyield the ghostassume room temperatureauger inbe called homebe gathered to one's fathersbe like the the Onebe no morebe with Jesusbe with the Lordbite the big onebite the biscuitbite the dustbuy the farmbuy itcark itcash incash in one's chipscheck outclose one's eyes for the last time
Also see
diedraw one's last breath

Origin

Literally, to release one's spirit or soul from the body at death. From Middle English "gaf up þe gost", "ȝave up þe gost", from Old English phrases as "hēo āġeaf hire gāst" (literally, "she gave up her ghost [spirit]"), "þæt iċ gāst mīnne āġifan mōte" (literally, "that I must give up my ghost [spirit]"). Compare German den Geist aufgeben, Dutch de geest geven, French rendre l'âme. Perhaps most notable and survived in modern English for being used in traditional translation during the death of Jesus during His crucifixion

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans die gees gee
  • die gees geeto die
Chinese Mandarin 斷氣 /断气, 見閻王 /见阎王
  • 斷氣 /断气 (duànqì)to die
  • 見閻王 /见阎王 (jiàn Yánwáng)to die
Czech vypustit duši
  • vypustit dušito die
Dutch de geest geven
  • de geest gevento die
Finnish heittää henkensä
  • heittää henkensäto die
French rendre l'âme
  • rendre l'âmeto die
German den Geist aufgeben
  • den Geist aufgebento die
Hungarian kileheli a lelkét
  • kileheli a lelkétto die
Icelandic gefa upp öndina
  • gefa upp öndinato die
Italian rendere l'anima, esalare l'ultimo respiro
  • rendere l'animato die
  • esalare l'ultimo respiroto die
Māori pau te hau
  • pau te hauto die
Polish wyzionąć ducha
  • wyzionąć duchato die
Portuguese bater as botas, vestir o paletó de madeira
  • bater as botasto die
  • vestir o paletó de madeirato die
Romanian da duhul
  • da duhulto die
Russian испусти́ть дух
  • испусти́ть дух (ispustítʹ dux)to die
Spanish entregar el alma, entregar el alma a Dios
  • entregar el almato die
  • entregar el alma a Diosto die
  • entregar el equipoto die
  • pasar a mejor vidato die
Swedish ge upp andan
  • ge upp andanto die
Vietnamese tắt thở, gặp Diêm Vương
  • tắt thởto die
  • gặp Diêm Vươngto die
Cite this entry
APA

give up the ghost. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/give%20up%20the%20ghost

MLA

“give up the ghost.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/give%20up%20the%20ghost. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “give up the ghost,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/give%20up%20the%20ghost.

Source: give up the ghost on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.