Definition of 'to give up the ghost'
If someone gives up the ghost, they stop trying to do something because they no longer believe they can do it successfully. If a machine gives up the ghost, it stops working. Some firms give up the ghost before they find what they are looking for.
What does it mean in the Bible to give up the ghost?
To give up the ghost means to expire or die, or in the case of a mechanical object, to stop working. ... The phrase give up the ghost may be traced back to the King James Bible, printed in the early 1600s.
How do you use give up the ghost in a sentence?
If a machine gives up the ghost, it stops working: Our old TV had finally given up the ghost. to stop trying to do something because you know that you will not succeed: All I'd cherished from early childhood had been denied me, so I simply gave up the ghost.
