lend

/lend/ /lent/ verb (lent, lent)

Definition

› [I or T] BANKING, FINANCE if a bank or other financial organization lends money to someone, it gives them money for a period of time which they then pay back with interest: Britain's building societies chiefly lend money for house purchase.lend $5,000/£2bn/€1m, etc. to sb The Ohio Development Financing Advisory Council agreed to lend $20 million to the Port Authority.lend sb $5,000/£2bn/€1m, etc. A number of prominent businessmen are rumoured to have lent the Party over £20 million.lend to sb/sth Banks have been heavily criticized for lending to people who cannot afford the repayments.

› [T] to give someone something for a period of time, after which they will give it back to you: lend sb sth Can you lend me $20?lend sth to sb Her tasks included persuading stores to offer discounts or lend clothes on approval to her boss.

› to give something a quality that makes it better in some way: lend sth to sth We hope that these measures will lend stability to the economy.lend weight (to sth) February's trade figures lend weight to the Fund's less cheerful view.lend credence/credibility (to sth) Other evidence helped lend credibility to their claims.

lend a (helping) hand › to do something that helps a company or person: The Federal Reserve is expected to lend a hand by continuing to cut interest rates forcefully.

lend your support (to sth) › to support someone or something: I have lent my support to his plan for a private referendum.

→ See Note borrow

(Definition of lend verb from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)