borrow


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Financial, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Related to borrow: borrow pit

bor·row

 (bŏr′ō, bôr′ō)
v. bor·rowed, bor·row·ing, bor·rows
v.tr.
1. To obtain or receive (something) on loan with the promise or understanding of returning it or its equivalent.
2. To adopt or use as one's own: I borrowed your good idea.
3. In subtraction, to take a unit from the next larger denomination in the minuend so as to make a number larger than the number to be subtracted.
4. Linguistics To adopt (a word) from one language for use in another.
v.intr.
1. To borrow something.
2. Linguistics To adopt words from one language for use in another.
Idiom:
borrow trouble
To take an unnecessary action that will probably engender adverse effects.

[Middle English borwen, from Old English borgian; see bhergh- in Indo-European roots.]

bor′row·er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

borrow

(ˈbɒrəʊ)
vb
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) golf to putt the ball uphill of the direct path to the hole
5. (Golf) (intr) golf (of a ball) to deviate from a straight path because of the slope of the ground
n
6. (Golf) golf a deviation of a ball from a straight path because of the slope of the ground: a left borrow.
7. (Civil Engineering) material dug from a borrow pit to provide fill at another
8. living on borrowed time
a. living an unexpected extension of life
b. close to death
[Old English borgian; related to Old High German borgēn to take heed, give security]
ˈborrower n
Usage: The use of off after borrow was formerly considered incorrect, but is now acceptable in informal contexts

Borrow

(ˈbɒrəʊ)
n
(Biography) 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 and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

bor•row

(ˈbɒr oʊ, ˈbɔr oʊ)
v.t.
1. to take or obtain with the promise to return the same or an equivalent: to borrow a pencil.
2. to appropriate or introduce from another source or from a foreign source: to borrow a word from French.
3. to take or adopt as one's own: to borrow an idea.
4. (in subtraction) to take from one denomination and add to the next lower.
v.i.
5. to borrow something.
Idioms:
borrow trouble, to do something unnecessary that may cause future harm or inconvenience.
[before 900; Middle English; Old English borgian to borrow, lend, derivative of borg a pledge]
bor′row•a•ble, adj.
bor′row•er, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

borrow

lend

If you borrow something that belongs to someone else, you use it for a period of time and then return it.

Could I borrow your car?
I borrowed this book from the library.

If you lend something you own to someone else, you allow them to have it or use it for a period of time. The past tense form and -ed participle of lend is lent.

I lent her £50.
Would you lend me your calculator?

Be Careful!
You don't normally talk about borrowing or lending things that can't move. Don't say, for example, 'Can I borrow your garage next week?' You say 'Can I use your garage next week?'

You can use our washing machine.

Similarly, you don't usually say 'He lent me his office while he was on holiday'. You say 'He let me use his office while he was on holiday'.

She brought them mugs of coffee and let them use her bath.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

borrow


Past participle: borrowed
Gerund: borrowing

Imperative
borrow
borrow
Present
I borrow
you borrow
he/she/it borrows
we borrow
you borrow
they borrow
Preterite
I borrowed
you borrowed
he/she/it borrowed
we borrowed
you borrowed
they borrowed
Present Continuous
I am borrowing
you are borrowing
he/she/it is borrowing
we are borrowing
you are borrowing
they are borrowing
Present Perfect
I have borrowed
you have borrowed
he/she/it has borrowed
we have borrowed
you have borrowed
they have borrowed
Past Continuous
I was borrowing
you were borrowing
he/she/it was borrowing
we were borrowing
you were borrowing
they were borrowing
Past Perfect
I had borrowed
you had borrowed
he/she/it had borrowed
we had borrowed
you had borrowed
they had borrowed
Future
I will borrow
you will borrow
he/she/it will borrow
we will borrow
you will borrow
they will borrow
Future Perfect
I will have borrowed
you will have borrowed
he/she/it will have borrowed
we will have borrowed
you will have borrowed
they will have borrowed
Future Continuous
I will be borrowing
you will be borrowing
he/she/it will be borrowing
we will be borrowing
you will be borrowing
they will be borrowing
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been borrowing
you have been borrowing
he/she/it has been borrowing
we have been borrowing
you have been borrowing
they have been borrowing
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been borrowing
you will have been borrowing
he/she/it will have been borrowing
we will have been borrowing
you will have been borrowing
they will have been borrowing
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been borrowing
you had been borrowing
he/she/it had been borrowing
we had been borrowing
you had been borrowing
they had been borrowing
Conditional
I would borrow
you would borrow
he/she/it would borrow
we would borrow
you would borrow
they would borrow
Past Conditional
I would have borrowed
you would have borrowed
he/she/it would have borrowed
we would have borrowed
you would have borrowed
they would have borrowed
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

borrow

Slope on a putting green.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.borrow - get temporarily; "May I borrow your lawn mower?"
acquire, get - come into the possession of something concrete or abstract; "She got a lot of paintings from her uncle"; "They acquired a new pet"; "Get your results the next day"; "Get permission to take a few days off from work"
loan, lend - give temporarily; let have for a limited time; "I will lend you my car"; "loan me some money"
2.borrow - take up and practice as one's own
accept, take, have - receive willingly something given or offered; "The only girl who would have him was the miller's daughter"; "I won't have this dog in my house!"; "Please accept my present"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

borrow

verb
1. take on loan, touch (someone) for (slang), scrounge (informal), blag (slang), mooch (slang), cadge, use temporarily, take and return Can I borrow a pen please?
take on loan give, return, provide, supply, advance, loan, lend
2. steal, take, use, copy, adopt, appropriate, acquire, pinch (informal), pirate, poach, pilfer, filch, plagiarize I borrowed his words for my book's title.
Quotations
"Neither a borrower nor a lender be" [William Shakespeare Hamlet]
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
استعاريُقارِضيَقْتَرِضُ، يَسْتَقْرِضُ
půjčit si
låne
lainata joltakulta
posuditi
fá aî láni
借りる
빌리다
pasiskolinimaspasiskolinti
aizņemties
požičať si
sposoditisposoditi si
låna
ยืม
ödünç almakborç almak
mượn

borrow

[ˈbɒrəʊ] VTpedir prestado (from, of a) → tomar prestado; [+ idea etc] → adoptar, apropiarse; [+ word] → tomar (from de) may I borrow your car?¿me prestas el coche?
you can borrow it till I need itte lo presto hasta que lo necesite
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

borrow

[ˈbɒrəʊ] vt [+ money, book, pen] → emprunter
Can I borrow your pen? → Je peux emprunter ton stylo?
May I borrow your car? → Est-ce que je peux emprunter ta voiture?
to borrow sth from sb → emprunter qch à qn
I borrowed some money from a friend → J'ai emprunté de l'argent à un ami.
to be on borrowed time, to be living on borrowed time → ne plus en avoir pour longtemps
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

borrow

vt
(→ sich dat) → borgen, sich (dat)leihen (from von); £5000 (from bank), carsich (dat)leihen; library bookausleihen; wordentlehnen; (fig) idea, methodologyborgen (inf), → übernehmen (from von); to borrow money from the bank/another countryKredit bei der Bank/eine Anleihe bei einem anderen Land aufnehmen; borrowed wordLehnwort nt; he is living on borrowed timeseine Uhr ist abgelaufen
(Math, in subtraction) → borgen (inf)
viborgen; (from bank) → Kredit maufnehmen; borrowing countrykreditnehmendes Land
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

borrow

[ˈbɒrəʊ] vt to borrow (from)prendere in prestito (da), farsi prestare (da); (idea, word) → prendere (da)
could I borrow your car? → puoi prestarmi la macchina?
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

borrow

(ˈborəu) verb
to take (something, often money) temporarily with the intention of returning it. He borrowed a book from the library.
ˈborrower noun
ˈborrowing noun

borrow from: I borrow money from a friend .
lend to: My friend lends money to me / My friend lends me money .
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

borrow

يُقارِض půjčit si låne borgen δανείζομαι pedir prestado lainata joltakulta emprunter posuditi prendere in prestito 借りる 빌리다 lenen låne pożyczyć pedir emprestado, tomar emprestado занимать låna ยืม ödünç almak mượn
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
Collins Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
References in classic literature ?
I went to see Johnny Heinhold in the Last Chance, and I went to borrow money.
This claim, however, I desire to be allowed me only on condition that I preserve strict honesty towards my poor brethren, from whom, if ever I borrow any of that little of which they are possessed, I shall never fail to put their mark upon it, that it may be at all times ready to be restored to the right owner.
Also, you say that you are in despair at the thought of being unable to help me in my illness, owing to the fact that you have sold everything which might have maintained me, and preserved me in sickness, as well as that you have borrowed as much as it is possible for you to borrow, and are daily experiencing unpleasantness with your landlady.
Knowing where he could procure the loan, he was by no means equally sure of being able to find the security on which he could borrow the money.
"And besides," I says, "we might borrow something worth having out of the captain's stateroom.
You ain't got nothin' to keep her on!' 'If I can borrow the pig,' sez he, 'I reckon I can borrow the feed somewheres.' God knows, he'll find that ain't so plentiful, but he's got the right idea.
The long and short of it is, somebody has told old Featherstone, giving you as the authority, that Fred has been borrowing or trying to borrow money on the prospect of his land.
He thought it was simply a dreadful disgrace to borrow ANYTHING.
In early youth in the Corps of Pages, he had experienced the humiliation of a refusal, when he had tried, being in difficulties, to borrow money, and since then he had never once put himself in the same position again.
I am sure I never gave her leave to borrow my wheel-barrow!
He wrote a little; he painted a little; he sang and played and composed a little--borrowing, as I suspect, in all these cases, just as he had borrowed from me.