loan

¹ American  

[lohn] / loʊn /

noun

1. the act of lending; a grant of the temporary use of something.

   the loan of a book.

2. something lent or furnished on condition of being returned, especially a sum of money lent at interest.

   a $1000 loan at 10 percent interest.

3. loanword.

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verb (used with object)

1. to make a loan of; lend.

   Will you loan me your umbrella?

2. to lend (money) at interest.

verb (used without object)

1. to make a loan or loans; lend.

idioms

1. on loan,

   1. borrowed for temporary use.

      How many books can I have on loan from the library at one time?

   2. temporarily provided or released by one's regular employer, superior, or owner for use by another.

      Our best actor is on loan to another movie studio for two films.

loan ² American  

[lohn] / loʊn /

Also loaning

noun

Scot.

1. a country lane; secondary road.

2. an uncultivated plot of farmland, usually used for milking cows.

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loan ¹ British  

/ ləʊn /

noun

1. the act of lending

   the loan of a car

2. 1. property lent, esp money lent at interest for a period of time

   2. ( as modifier )

      loan holder

3. the adoption by speakers of one language of a form current in another language

4. short for loan word

5. 1. lent out; borrowed

   2. (esp of personnel) transferred from a regular post to a temporary one elsewhere

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verb

1. to lend (something, esp money)

loan ² British  

/ ləʊn, ˈləʊnɪŋ /

noun

1. a lane

2. a place where cows are milked

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Usage

Sometimes mistakenly identified as an Americanism, loan1 as a verb meaning “to lend” has been used in English for nearly 800 years: Nearby villages loaned clothing and other supplies to the flood-ravaged town. The occasional objections to loan as a verb referring to things other than money, are comparatively recent. Loan is standard in all contexts but is perhaps most common in financial ones: The government has loaned money to farmers to purchase seed.

Other Word Forms

• loanable adjective
• loaner noun
• unloaned adjective
• unloaning adjective

Etymology

Origin of loan¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English noun lon(e), lan(e), Old English lān, from Old Norse lān; replacing its cognate, Old English lǣn “loan, grant,” cognate with Dutch leen “loan,” German Leh(e)n “fief”; lend

Origin of loan²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English lane, lone, Old English lane, lane ¹

Example Sentences

It’s another example of investors rushing to the exits of nontraded funds as they worry about interest rates, private asset estimates, and the quality of loans to software companies that face pressure from AI.

From Barron's

Nontraded funds like this try to allow some liquidity to their wealthy investors, while keeping enough money around to match the five-year average terms of the loans they make to companies.

From Barron's

A credit score of 740 will qualify you for a loan with low interest rates, according to Fidelity.

From MarketWatch

For more than a decade, she covered consumer lending broadly, with a focus on how lenders underwrote loans and borrowers' ability to repay them.

From The Wall Street Journal

The jump in rates effectively closes a brief window of opportunity for homeowners interested in refinancing their home loans.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• allowance
• credit
• investment
• mortgage