lend-lease
Americannoun
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the matériel and services supplied by the United States to its allies during World War II under an act of Congress Lend-Lease Act passed in 1941: such aid was to be repaid in kind after the war.
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the two-way transfer of ideas, styles, etc.
verb (used with object)
noun
Etymology
Origin of lend-lease
First recorded in 1935–40
Explanation
Before the United States engaged in World War II, the government used a program called lend-lease to provide military and food aid to the Allies. Under lend-lease, the U.S. sent ammunition, tanks, and other supplies overseas. A lend-lease program involves lending goods with the understanding that they will be used to benefit the donor in some way (or sometimes, that they will eventually be returned). In World War II's lend-lease program, the U.S. gave supplies and material to several Allied nations, and in return those countries defended America from the Axis forces. It was also an indirect way for the U.S. to involve itself in the war before fully committing to fighting with the Allies.
Vocabulary lists containing lend-lease
World War II
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American History - Middle School
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American History - High School
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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.
Spam also reached civilian dinner tables during the war thanks to the Lend-Lease Act of 1941, which delivered food rations to allies such as Great Britain and the Soviet Union.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 14, 2023
"It's very important for our aviation history because no Lend-Lease aircraft have been found here before."
From BBC • Jul. 2, 2023
In early 1941, he opposed the Lend-Lease Act, saying "an invasion of the United States by the German Army is as fantastic as would be an invasion of Germany by the American Army."
From Salon • Jan. 7, 2023
The Lend-Lease program sent material and foodstuffs to forty Allied nations, mainly Britain and the Soviet Union but also other nations from Brazil and Belgium to Iran and Uruguay.
From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022
Nancy was organizing a squadron of women who could fly aircraft to the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union through the Lend-Lease program.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
