Word of the Day: Gift
The word “gift” is used when someone is given something such as a present, a reward, or an advantage. People receive gifts for birthdays, for holiday events, or when celebrating special occasions:
- Ted’s grandmother gave him several gifts for his birthday.
- Emily bought her husband an iPad as a gift for Christmas.
- That’s a very nice gift!
- It’s good to receive gifts, but it’s also good to give them!
- Gift cards are popular gifts.
- My students gave me a gift card for twenty dollars of food at Subway.
- The opportunity to spend time with Denise before she died was a real gift.
Sometimes the word “gift” is used to describe a person’s great, natural talents and abilities:
- The young man’s ability to do math is a genuine gift.
- He’s gifted. (The word “gifted” in this sentence is an adjective.)
- Helen has a gift for singing.
- Her ability to sing is a gift.
- She’s a very gifted singer.
- Students who are academically gifted may find regular classes in school to be boring.
You shouldn’t use “gift” as a verb, but some people try anyway; however, the word “regift” has become popular as a verb in recent years. If you regift, you give someone a gift which you have received from another person.
- Bernie received some candy for her birthday, but she doesn’t eat candy, so she regifted it. She wrapped up the box and gave it to a friend at work.
- Instead of returning the sausage maker that they received as a wedding present, Bill and Michelle regifted it at a Christmas party.
- Have you ever regifted something you received as a present?
Essential English Dictionary
Visit the Popular English Words Beginning with G page to see the list of all words starting with letter G. For seeing the HiCafe dictionary, visit the Popular English Words with Meaning page.
