Definition of “borrow” - English Dictionary

American
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“borrow” in English

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borrowverb

uk ​ /ˈbɒr.əʊ/ us ​ /ˈbɑːr.oʊ/

borrow verb (RECEIVE)

A2 [ T ] to get or receive something from someone with the intention of giving it back after a period of time:

I had to borrow a pen from the invigilator to do the exam.
UK non-standard Can I borrow £100 off you until next week?
She used to borrow money and not bother to pay it back.
He borrowed a novel from the library.

C1 [ 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.

› [ T ] to take and use a word or idea from another language or piece of work:

English has borrowed many words from French.

More examples

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

borrower
noun [ C ] uk ​ /ˈbɒr.əʊ.ər/ us ​ /ˈbɑːr.oʊ.ɚ/

› a person, organization, etc. that borrows:

Banks are encouraging new borrowers.
borrowing
noun [ C or U ] uk ​ /ˈbɒr.əʊ.ɪŋ/ us ​ /ˈbɑːr.oʊ.ɪŋ/

›

Public borrowing has increased in recent years.

Grammar

Lend or borrow?Lend means ‘give something to someone for a short time, expecting that you will get it back’. The past simple and the -ed form are lent: …

Idiom(s)

live on borrowed time

(Definition of “borrow” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

“borrow” in American English

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borrowverb [ I/T ]

us ​ /ˈbɑr·oʊ, ˈbɔr-/

› to take something from someone with the intention of giving it back after using it:

[ T ] Could I borrow your bike until next week?
[ T ] fig. We constantly borrow words from other cultures.
borrower
noun [ C ] us ​ /ˈbɑr·ə·wər, ˈbɔr-/

›

The rate charged to borrowers is 9.7%.
borrowing
noun [ C/U ] us ​ /ˈbɑr·ə·wɪŋ, ˈbɔr-/

›

[ U ] Jefferson opposed government borrowing.

(Definition of “borrow” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

“borrow” in Business English

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borrowverb [ I or T ]

uk ​ /ˈbɒrəʊ/ us ​

› FINANCE, BANKING to take money from a bank or other financial organization with the intention of paying it back over a period of time, usually with interest added on:

He will have to borrow £300 million to make his controversial takeover bid successful.
Find out how much you can afford to borrow before you decide to buy a house.
borrow from sth If you borrow from a credit card, the interest can be 20%.
borrow sth from sth This is a way of borrowing money from international financial markets.
Countries who had borrowed heavily to pay for oil imports were hit hard.

› to ask someone to give you money for a period of time, after which you intend to give it back to them:

Can I borrow £20? I'll pay you back tomorrow.
borrow (sth) from sb He borrowed some money from a friend.

Compare

lend

Phrasal verb(s)

borrow against

(Definition of “borrow” from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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