borrowing

American

[bor-oh-ing, bawr-] / ˈbɒr oʊ ɪŋ, ˈbɔr- /

noun

the act of one who borrows.
the process by which something, as a word or custom, is adopted or absorbed.
the result of such a process; something borrowed, as a foreign word or phrase or a custom.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

borrowings

plural

Etymology

Origin of borrowing

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at borrow, -ing ¹

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.

Borrowing for graduate school is still limited to $20,500 a year, but now capped at a total of $100,000 over the course of the degree, down from the previous $138,500.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 1, 2026

Borrowing costs for customers coming off those deals are likely to rise sharply.

From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026

Borrowing language from an earlier case, Justice William Douglas argued that giving “untrammeled discretion” to the judge or jury to make sentencing decisions in capital cases was “offensive to … the Constitution.”

From Slate • Jun. 8, 2026

Borrowing fuels capital expenditures that support sales growth, starting the cycle over again.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

Borrowing one of Farmer’s famous lines in debate, Jim said, “On what data exactly do you base that statement?”

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023