what gives

phrase

What is wrong? Why is this happening?

“What gives with you and Martha?”

OriginGerman “was gibt's?” →
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Meanings

phrasewhat gives?
  1. colloquialWhat is wrong? Why is this happening?

    Not even thirty minutes after leaving the shower, my head starts itching. What gives?

  2. colloquialWhat is happening? What is going on?

    What gives with you and Martha?

  3. colloquialHow are you?

Origin

  1. German“was gibt's?”
  2. Englishwhat gives

First attested in 1940, in John O'Hara's novel Pal Joey. The term is considered by the American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, Second Edition (2013) and several other references to be a calque of German “was gibt's?” and/or a Yiddish equivalent. Brian Joseph disputes this, and speculates that despite extremely late attestation, it and the German was gibt's may "allow[] for a reconstruction of a Proto-West-Germanic existential use of 'give', which survives marginally into present usage."

More words from German

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Polish co się stało?, co słychać?
  • co się stało?What is wrong? Why is this happening?
  • co słychać?What is happening? What is going on?
Spanish qué pasa, total
  • qué pasaWhat is wrong? Why is this happening?
  • totalWhat is happening? What is going on?
Cite this entry
APA

what gives. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/what%20gives

MLA

“what gives.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/what%20gives. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “what gives,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/what%20gives.

Source: what gives on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.