A2[T]to get or receive something from someone with the intention of giving it back after a period of time: Could I borrow your bike from (non-standardoff) you until next week?She used to borrow money and not bother to pay it back.He borrowed a novel from the library.Borrowing, lending and debtC1[I or T]to take money from a bank or other financial organization and pay it back over a period of time: Like so many companies at that time, we had to borrow heavily to survive.We could always borrow some money from the bank.Borrowing, lending and debt›[T]to take and use a word or idea from another language or piece of work: English has borrowed many words from French.Writing and typingborrowing
/-ɪŋ/noun[C or U]›Public borrowing has increased in recent years.Borrowing, lending and debtborrower
/-ər//-ɚ/noun[C]›a person, organization, etc. that borrows: Building societies are encouraging new borrowers.Borrowers and lenders