To be exhausted or used up.
1832. Our money—that glittering dross so essential in travelling—gave out.—E. C. Wines, ‘Two Years and a Half in the Navy,’ ii. 52 (Phila.).
1833. Sometimes these valuable companions [house-dogs] give out on the road, and in their broken-down condition are sold for a trifle by their masters…. Their horses, of course, frequently give out on the road; and, in companies so numerous, sickness must frequently overtake some of the members.—C. F. Hoffman, ‘A Winter in the Far West,’ i. 44, 45 (Lond., 1835).
1841. Mr. Lumpkin of Georgia wished to state that Mr. Buchanan was mistaken in saying that the gold had given out in Georgia. On the contrary, new discoveries were constantly being made.—U.S. Senate, Jan. 22: Cong. Globe, p. 110, App.
1846. Brown’s horse gave out entirely to-day, and was left on the road about six miles from our camp.—Edwin Bryant, ‘What I saw in California,’ p. 208 (N.Y.).
1856. The torches gave out, and the party was left in utter darkness.—W. G. Simms, ‘Eutaw,’ p. 37 (N.Y.).
1856. A new leader took the place of the old man, when his breath gave out (he had sung very hard, with much bending of the body and gesticulation).—Olmsted, ‘Slave States,’ p. 26. (N.E.D.)
1859. The gold gave out, and it strikes me that the necessity for the mint has gone with it.—Mr. Toombs of Georgia, U.S. Senate, Feb. 22: Cong. Globe, p. 1214.
1861. Tea, coffee, and clothing are nearly exhausted, or have, as the American phrase has it, “given out.”—W. H. Russell, The Times, Sept. 24. (N.E.D.)
1888. The table was a subject of study; for when twenty [guests] came, the dishes gave out.—Mrs. Custer, ‘Tenting on the Plains,’ p. 230.
1888. The wood gave out, and Autie descended for more.—Id., p. 240.
