lend
Americanverb (used with object)
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lends,
present (3rd person singular)
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lent,
past participle, past
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lending
present participle
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to grant the use of (something) on condition that it or its equivalent will be returned.
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to give (money) on condition that it is returned and often that interest is paid for its temporary use.
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to give or contribute obligingly or helpfully.
to lend one's aid to a cause.
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to adapt (oneself or itself ) to something.
The building should lend itself to inexpensive remodeling.
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to furnish or impart.
Distance lends enchantment to the view.
verb (used without object)
-
lends,
present (3rd person singular)
-
lent,
past participle, past
-
lending
present participle
idioms
verb
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(tr) to permit the use of (something) with the expectation of return of the same or an equivalent
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to provide (money) temporarily, often at interest
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(intr) to provide loans, esp as a profession
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(tr) to impart or contribute (something, esp some abstract quality)
her presence lent beauty
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(tr) to provide, esp in order to assist or support
he lent his skill to the company
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to listen
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to possess the right characteristics or qualities for
the novel lends itself to serialization
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to give support, cooperation, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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lendsimple
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lendssimple
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have lentperfect
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has lentperfect
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am lendingprogressive
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are lendingprogressive
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is lendingprogressive
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have been lendingperfect progressive
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has been lendingperfect progressive
Past
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lentsimple
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had lentperfect
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was lendingprogressive
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were lendingprogressive
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had been lendingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of lend
First recorded before 900; from Middle English lenden, variant (originally past tense) of lenen, Old English lǣnan (cognate with Dutch lenen, German lehnen, Old Norse lāna ), derivative of lǣn loan; cognate with German Lehnen, Old Norse lān; see loan 1
Explanation
When you lend something, you loan it or let someone borrow it. You might, for example, lend your bike to your brother — if he promises to be careful with it. Libraries lend people books, and car rental companies lend people cars — in both cases, the item that's been borrowed is supposed to be returned eventually. Another way to lend is to "add a quality to," or "be suitable for." You could say that you think your hat lends you a mysterious quality, or that your trench coat lends itself to walking through a foggy city at dusk.
Vocabulary lists containing lend
"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 17
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Unit 17, Lesson 4
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Give
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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.
See Examples For:
There’s a price to be paid: you lend an ear, you overlook a harsh word and, yes, you ultimately hand over your time.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
"It wasn't actually something we had in mind when we were developing the exhibition, or even when we asked the National Gallery if they would lend this painting," he explained.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
It is not his first out-of-state trip to lend a hand in campaigns, but likely one of his last as governor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
The Fed benchmark, the Federal Funds Rate, sets the interest rate big banks use to lend or borrow their excess reserves to one another.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
As she stepped into the hall, it dawned on me that all this time, she had been ready to lend a hand.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
But our guide is just a regular guy, which lends to the charm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
This lends his work the unease and loneliness of Elliott Smith, another songwriter obsessed with making the thoughtful deployment of music theory sound effortless.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Like Smyth, he believes Northern Ireland lends itself perfectly to film-making.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
The strong presence of mosquito remains also lends support to the idea that prey carcasses may sometimes have been stored in ponds or marshy environments, where mosquitoes would have laid their eggs.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026
“Fern,” I bark, “you know the rules: everyone who lends a paw can claim the catch.”
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
This week, faculty wrote that his words lent credence to false accusations against the symposium and wrongly suggested that the lawyer or the organizers supported her client’s alleged crimes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
Lloyds lent them £258,000 - roughly 98% of the property's value - over a 33-year term and they only had to put down £5,000 as a deposit.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
The roughly 30-piece show, I Am Plane Image, combines works lent by museums and private collectors with pieces from the family’s own holdings to chronicle the painter’s six-decade career.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Thomas Bachellerie, who used to manage a games shop in Lyon, warned that second-hand sales sometimes made up almost a third of stores' turnover -- a problem since digital games "cannot be resold or lent".
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
That night, Magdalys lay in bed staring at the dark ceiling, her fingers laced behind the silky headscarf Miss Bernice had lent her.
From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older
Major US banks JP Morgan, KeyCorp, and BNY all raised their prime lending rate on Wednesday to 7% from 6.75%, which will affect rates charged on credit cards and personal loans.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
“Tight lending conditions and elevated land, labor and construction costs persist,” Robert Dietz, chief economist at the NAHB, said in a statement.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
And, yes, the economic backdrop can affect lending standards and how willing banks are to extend credit.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
Truist Financial has agreed to sell $5.5 billion of auto loans as part of its decision to exit the near-prime auto lending business.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Not long after that, Gat started lending me his books and finding me at the tiny beach in the early evenings.
From "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart
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.
