# give up the ghost

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/give-up-the-ghost
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To cease clinging to life; to die.

## Examples

- The old car finally gave up the ghost.
- The office printer finally gives up the ghost during the busiest week.
- My grandmother's TV gave up the ghost after twenty years of daily use.
- After years of heavy use in the kitchen, my blender gave up the ghost while I was trying to make a thick fruit smoothie.
- The local bookstore had to give up the ghost because most people in the neighborhood started buying their novels online instead.
- The ancient oak tree, which had stood for three centuries, gave up the ghost during the violent winter storm.

## Origin

This is the phrasing used in the King James Bible for the moment of death, where "ghost" carries its older sense of the spirit or breath of life. It appears in passages such as Job 14:10, "man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?", and Mark 15:37, which describes Jesus giving up the ghost on the cross. Because the King James translation was so widely read, the wording passed into everyday English as a euphemism for dying. It is now applied loosely as well, often to machines and devices that stop working for good.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.