mortgage
Americannoun
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mortgages
plural
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a conveyance of an interest in real property as security for the repayment of money borrowed to buy the property; a lien or claim on property such that the lender can take possession if the loan is not repaid.
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the deed by which such a transaction is effected.
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the rights conferred by such a transaction, or the state of the property conveyed: I own a house under mortgage.
The bank holds a mortgage on his farm.
I own a house under mortgage.
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the total loan obtained or the periodic installment to be paid under such a transaction.
They took out a $500,000 mortgage.
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the obligation to repay such a loan; the debt incurred.
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an advance obligation or pledge, usually involving some risk.
Without good maternity care, some babies will be born with a long-term mortgage on their future health.
verb (used with object)
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mortgages,
present (3rd person singular)
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mortgaged,
past participle, past
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mortgaging
present participle
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to convey or place (real property) under a mortgage.
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to place under advance obligation; to pledge, usually taking on some risk.
to mortgage one's life to the defense of democracy.
noun
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an agreement under which a person borrows money to buy property, esp a house, and the lender may take possession of the property if the borrower fails to repay the money
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the deed effecting such an agreement
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the loan obtained under such an agreement
a mortgage of £48 000
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a regular payment of money borrowed under such an agreement
a mortgage of £247 per month
verb
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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submortgagenoun
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overmortgageverb
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remortgageverb (used with object)
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unmortgageverb (used with object)
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mortgageableadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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mortgagesimple
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mortgagessimple
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have mortgagedperfect
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has mortgagedperfect
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am mortgagingprogressive
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are mortgagingprogressive
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is mortgagingprogressive
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have been mortgagingperfect progressive
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has been mortgagingperfect progressive
Past
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mortgagedsimple
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had mortgagedperfect
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was mortgagingprogressive
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were mortgagingprogressive
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had been mortgagingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mortgage
First recorded in 1350–1400; earlier morgage, Middle English, from Old French mortgage, equivalent to mort “dead” (from Latin mortuus ) + gage “pledge”; see gage 1
Explanation
A mortgage is a loan in which the lender may use your property as payment if you don't pay back the loan. Offer your friend a mortgage for the $20 he wants...with his bike as security. Most people obtain a mortgage when they buy a house. The bank extends the loan because of the guarantee that the house will be the bank’s to sell if the debt isn’t repaid. When you make this deal, you have mortgaged your house — the word mortgage can be used as a noun or a verb.
Vocabulary lists containing mortgage
Richard Nixon's "Checkers" Speech (1952)
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Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - Introductory
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Dwight D. Eisenhower, "The Military-Industrial Complex" (1961)
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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:
“We’re working right now to survive, to pay our mortgage and car insurance and what we need.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
As mortgage rates rise, the math break down for homeowners with lower-rate mortgages looking to move.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
Economic growth has generally been stronger during periods of higher mortgage rates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
For years, home prices have marched upward, hitting new record highs as people hung on to their homes and their ultralow mortgage rates, restricting supply.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
He didn’t know exactly why all these banks were suddenly so keen to buy insurance on subprime mortgage bonds, but there was one obvious reason: The loans suddenly were going bad at an alarming rate.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
As mortgage rates rise, the math break down for homeowners with lower-rate mortgages looking to move.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
Foreclosures rose as a result, by 47% over the past year for mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
Adjustable-rate mortgages offer a lower fixed-rate, typically for a period of three to 10 years, before returning to market rates once that period ends.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
The loans would function like fixed-rate second mortgages.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
A CDO composed of nothing but the riskiest, mezzanine layer of subprime mortgages was not called a subprime-backed CDO but a “structured finance CDO.”
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Walt Disney mortgaged everything, convinced Snow White would be a hit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
To finance “I Am Frankelda,” Roy and Arturo mortgaged two homes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
Put differently, the average mortgaged homeowner now spends more than a full month’s housing payment each year on insurance.
From Barron's ● Jan. 27, 2026
To raise the money for the $100 million-plus production, he mortgaged his seaside Santa Barbara, California, estate.
From Seattle Times ● May 19, 2024
She did not sell the house but she mortgaged it for every penny she could get.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
“Russia would be further mortgaging its future for the sake of military gains,” said Alexander Kolyandr, a director at the consulting firm Eurasia Group.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Mid-cap players are mortgaging chunks of their businesses to get in on the action, too.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2025
The group’s longtime leader, Carol Schatz, told the City Council at a public hearing that the city was mortgaging its future in a “misguided attempt to buy temporary peace with activists.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2025
Many private equity firms have quietly begun mortgaging their investment funds, piling leverage upon leverage.
From New York Times ● May 11, 2024
Almost immediately, the financial slide began, but was artificially buoyed by extravagant bank loans that Chacko raised by mortgaging the family’s rice fields around the Ayemenem House.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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.
