What is the difference between "Give it up" and "Applaud"?

The terms give it up and applaud usually used to commend or congratulate someone. Most of the times, when you say give it up (then the person’s name), the audience is expected to clap their hands to welcome that someone. Depending on the sentence, give it up can mean to let go of something. An example is: You spent too much money on gambling, you should give it up.

Applaud, on the other hand, sounds more formal than the phrase gives it up and sometimes do not need to be clapped for. It somehow recognizes one’s effort to a crowd or a certain group of people. An example is one newspaper editor applauded the successful recent projects of a city governor. It is like giving kudos or recognizing a job well done where clapping is not required.

Give it up can mean to clap for someone, to praise or congratulate someone. It can also mean to let go of something. It has much meaning, and it is often used in the place of the word “applaud.” In the first instance, “give it up” is followed by a person’s name.

For example: Give it up for Kamal. In the second instance, it can mean to let go of a bad habit or to let go something you love. However, applaud simply means to express approval of something or someone by clapping. Hope you find this helpful.

Give it up has a couple of meanings. First, it can mean clap your hands, or congratulate someone. “Give it up,” usually followed by a person’s name such as give it up for Justin, which is telling the audience to clap your hands to commend Justin for something he has accomplished, or Justin is coming on stage to entertain you and you are clapping your hands to welcome him onto the stage.

Give it up can also be used as a verb, as in giving up something like you’re going to give up smoking “give it up;” that’s no good for you.” The word applaud also means to clap for someone, but it can also be for something, such as clapping because someone received an award or gave an excellent performance. However, you could applaud someone for giving up smoking but would not applaud to tell them to quit smoking.

There is no big difference between 'give it up' and 'applaud'. Give it up as a phrasal verb, has almost the same meaning as applaud. 'Give it up' has different meanings unlike 'applaud'. Applaud means to clap for someone as a result of a well-done job, or when you are recognizing the presence of someone. In this case, give it up is used alongside 'for', i.e. you are giving it up for someone.

For example: let's give it up for John, for the brilliant idea he came up with. However, give it up might have other meanings aside to clap for someone. 'Give it up' is also used when trying to quit or stop a particular habit. It is also used to mean; you are no longer pursuing something probably because you kept failing at every attempt. For example: I'm no longer pursuing my academic goal because I already gave it up.