borrow
verb (used with object)
to take or obtain with the promise to return the same or an equivalent.
borrow
1 American
[bor-oh, bawr-oh]
/ ˈbɒr oʊ, ˈbɔr oʊ /
verb (used with object)
-
borrows,
present (3rd person singular)
-
borrowed,
past participle, past
-
borrowing
present participle
-
to take or obtain with the promise to return the same or an equivalent.
Our neighbor borrowed my lawn mower.
-
to use, appropriate, or introduce from another source or from a foreign source.
to borrow an idea from the opposition;
to borrow a word from French.
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Arithmetic. (in subtraction) to take from one denomination and add to the next lower.
verb (used without object)
-
borrows,
present (3rd person singular)
-
borrowed,
past participle, past
-
borrowing
present participle
-
to borrow something.
Don't borrow unless you intend to repay.
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Nautical.
-
to sail close to the wind; luff.
-
to sail close to the shore.
-
-
Golf. to putt on other than a direct line from the lie of the ball to the hole, to compensate for the incline or roll of the green.
idioms
Borrow
2
American
[bor-oh, bawr-oh]
/ ˈbɒr oʊ, ˈbɔr oʊ /
noun
borrow
1
British
/ ˈbɒrəʊ /
verb
-
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
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to adopt (ideas, words, etc) from another source; appropriate
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not_standard to lend
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golf to putt the ball uphill of the direct path to the hole
-
(intr) golf (of a ball) to deviate from a straight path because of the slope of the ground
noun
-
golf a deviation of a ball from a straight path because of the slope of the ground
a left borrow
-
material dug from a borrow pit to provide fill at another
-
-
living an unexpected extension of life
-
close to death
-
Borrow
2
British
/ ˈbɒrəʊ /
noun
borrow
More Idioms
Usage
The use of off after borrow was formerly considered incorrect, but is now acceptable in informal contexts
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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borrowernoun
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nonborrowernoun
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overborrowverb
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Borrovianadjective
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borrowableadjective
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nonborrowedadjective
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unborrowedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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borrowsimple
-
borrowssimple
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have borrowedperfect
-
has borrowedperfect
-
am borrowingprogressive
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are borrowingprogressive
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is borrowingprogressive
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have been borrowingperfect progressive
-
has been borrowingperfect progressive
Past
-
borrowedsimple
-
had borrowedperfect
-
was borrowingprogressive
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were borrowingprogressive
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had been borrowingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of borrow
First recorded before 900; Middle English borowen, Old English borgian “to borrow, lend,” verb derivative of borg “a pledge”; cognate with Dutch borg “a pledge,” borgen “to charge, give credit,” German Borg “credit,” borgen “to take on credit”
Explanation
The word borrow means to take something and use it temporarily. You can borrow a book from the library, or borrow twenty bucks from your mom, or even borrow an idea from your friend. Usually , borrow implies taking something temporarily and returning it later. However, you can borrow non-physical things and adopt them as your own. For example, the English language has borrowed many words from other languages — such as Latin and Greek — but those words were never "given back." If you're subtracting numbers, you might have to borrow from the tens column to complete the problem.
Vocabulary lists containing borrow
ESL Library Vocabulary
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List 3
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"A Poem for My Librarian, Mrs. Long," Vocabulary from the poem
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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:
France now pays more to borrow than almost any other major European country, including Greece and Italy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
These “loser” stocks are ones that are difficult to borrow in the share-lending market and therefore hard to sell short.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
Governments in advanced economies alone are expected to borrow $18 trillion this year, according to the OECD, and are increasingly competing for buyers with stocks and bonds issued by U.S. tech companies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
And in one sense the researchers’ finding is too good to be true, since they reported that this hypothetical portfolio had an alpha close to zero after paying the stocks’ sky-high borrow costs.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
“I’ll let you borrow my rickshaw until tomorrow evening,” the woman said, pointing to the old-fashioned one decorated with advertisements for the shop.
From "Rickshaw Girl" by Mitali Perkins
Borrow a few inches from the precarious ledge beside the table.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
Searching on sites like AllBorrow and Borrow the Bazaar, the standard price to rent one outfit for eight days is between $120 and $200.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 2026
The fund’s use of debt via New Arrangements to Borrow requires 85% approval of voting shares.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
Tricolor isn’t a private credit fund, but its businesses was built on the same idea: Borrow money from banks, lend it to borrowers who don’t have access to bank financing—for a high yield.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2025
Borrow the warthog from Baba Joseph, I expect, thought Nhamo, but she said, “I’m glad Sister Gladys is pleased with my work.”
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
"Language is often the first thing politics borrows when it is trying to connect with a new constituency," she says.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
One could argue, however, that as Alphabet rolls out more data centers — and borrows money to do it — that it is becoming more of an industrial company, he said.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026
“Sweet Charity,” which borrows its name from Bob Fosse’s 1969 film, feels like we’ve just stepped into a club after an intense dance-off.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
While “Is God Is” borrows from some of those films, it’s not trying to show off.
From Salon ● May 19, 2026
At the party, at the corrugated tin shack of Maria Isabel’s cousin, Jasmin eats chicken, tries to blow up a red balloon, and borrows a pink bike with training wheels.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
“We basically borrowed that program and then partnered with them,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
That intro synth loop is very Whigs v2, in that it feels like it got borrowed from the Twilight Singers, as is the gently hypnotic backbeat and the female vocals.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
The U.K. government borrowed 1.8 billion pounds in July, an increase of 700 million pounds from July 2025.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The government borrowed slightly more than expected in July, according to figures published as Chancellor John Healey draws up his first Budget.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Out of money, Charles borrowed from his father and his sister and futilely tried to sue the Oneida Community for money he said they owed him.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
Rising bond yields are only adding to government problems with rising interest expenses and increasing borrowing needs, they added.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
The buyback isn’t the first instance of reaching for levers to hold down borrowing costs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has several ways he could try to impose his will on the bond market and bring down borrowing costs, including his plans to buy back more long-dated bonds starting in September.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
A soft reading could temper hike worries but an outsized figure would likely ramp up bets on an increase in borrowing costs.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
Eisman and his partners focused concretely on the people doing the borrowing and the lending.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
