Borrow Definition & Meaning

American

British

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Usage

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms borrow 1 American [bor-oh, bawr-oh] / ˈbɒr oʊ, ˈbɔr oʊ /

verb (used with object)

1. to take or obtain with the promise to return the same or an equivalent.

   Our neighbor borrowed my lawn mower.

2. to use, appropriate, or introduce from another source or from a foreign source.

   to borrow an idea from the opposition;

   to borrow a word from French.

   Synonyms: plagiarize, pirate, copy, get, take, acquire

3. Arithmetic. (in subtraction) to take from one denomination and add to the next lower.

verb (used without object)

1. to borrow something.

   Don't borrow unless you intend to repay.

2. Nautical.

   1. to sail close to the wind; luff.

   2. to sail close to the shore.

3. Golf. to putt on other than a direct line from the lie of the ball to the hole, to compensate for the incline or roll of the green.

idioms

1. borrow trouble, to do something that is unnecessary and may cause future harm or inconvenience.

Borrow 2 American [bor-oh, bawr-oh] / ˈbɒr oʊ, ˈbɔr oʊ /

noun

1. George, 1803–81, English traveler, writer, and student of languages, especially Romani.

borrow 1 British / ˈbɒrəʊ /

verb

1. to obtain or receive (something, such as money) on loan for temporary use, intending to give it, or something equivalent or identical, back to the lender

2. to adopt (ideas, words, etc) from another source; appropriate

3. not_standard to lend

4. golf to putt the ball uphill of the direct path to the hole

5. (intr) golf (of a ball) to deviate from a straight path because of the slope of the ground

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

1. golf a deviation of a ball from a straight path because of the slope of the ground

   a left borrow

2. material dug from a borrow pit to provide fill at another

3. 1. living an unexpected extension of life

   2. close to death

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Borrow 2 British / ˈbɒrəʊ /

noun

1. George ( Henry ). 1803–81, English traveller and writer. His best-known works are the semiautobiographical novels of Gypsy life and language, Lavengro (1851) and its sequel The Romany Rye (1857)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 borrow More Idioms

More idioms and phrases containing borrow

• beg, borrow, or steal
• on borrowed time

Usage

The use of off after borrow was formerly considered incorrect, but is now acceptable in informal contexts

Other Word Forms

• Borrovian adjective
• borrowable adjective
• borrower noun
• nonborrowed adjective
• nonborrower noun
• overborrow verb
• unborrowed adjective

Etymology

Origin of borrow

First recorded before 900; Middle English borowen, Old English borgian “to borrow, lend,” verb derivative of borg “a pledge”; cognate with Dutch borg “a pledge,” borgen “to charge, give credit,” German Borg “credit,” borgen “to take on credit”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Although corporate spreads have widened recently, this is still an attractive borrowing environment for an infrequent and very strong issuer,” Levenson wrote.

From MarketWatch

Avery’s blond hair is down and bouncy, and her eyelashes are spiky with the brown mascara Celia once told her was better for her coloring than the black she “borrowed” from Aunt Jen.

From Literature

Normally, the Fed looks past oil when it tries to assess inflation trends and set borrowing costs.

From MarketWatch

Normally, the Fed looks past oil when it tries to assess inflation trends and set borrowing costs.

From MarketWatch

Turns out, LeMay borrowed the phrase; the words were originally coined by satirical columnist Art Buchwald, but they lived on as the ultimate hawkish critique of the American strategy during the Vietnam War.

From Salon

Related Words

• acquire
• adopt
• assume
• copy
• obtain
• steal
• use

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.