This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
loan
1[ lohn ]
/ loʊn /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun
the act of lending; a grant of the temporary use of something: the loan of a book.
something lent or furnished on condition of being returned, especially a sum of money lent at interest: a $1000 loan at 10 percent interest.
verb (used with object)
to make a loan of; lend: Will you loan me your umbrella?
to lend (money) at interest.
verb (used without object)
to make a loan or loans; lend.
QUIZ
CUDDLE UP! A COZY QUIZ ON FALL WORDS HAS ARRIVED
If autumn is your ideal season, spice up your repertoire of "fall" vocabulary with this quiz on some warm and vivid descriptive words for the season.
Question 1 of 10
Which of the following words means “to make a crackling sound; crackle”?
Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing
Idioms about loan
- borrowed for temporary use: How many books can I have on loan from the library at one time?
- 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.
on loan,
Origin of loan
11150–1200; Middle English lon(e), lan(e) (noun), Old English lān<Old Norse lān; replacing its cognate, Old English lǣn loan, grant, cognate with Dutch leen loan, German Leh(e)n fief; cf. lend
usage note for loan
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 WORDS FROM loan
un·loaned, adjectiveWords nearby loan
loaf pan, loaf sugar, loaiasis, Loa loa, loam, loan, loanable, loanback, loanblend, loan collection, Loan Council
Other definitions for loan (2 of 2)
loan2
[ lohn ]
/ loʊn /
noun Scot.
a country lane; secondary road.
an uncultivated plot of farmland, usually used for milking cows.
Also loan·ing [loh-ning]. /ˈloʊ nɪŋ/.
Origin of loan
21325–75; Middle English, Old English lonelane1
OTHER WORDS FROM loan
un·loan·ing, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use loan in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for loan (1 of 2)
loan1
/ (ləʊn) /
noun
the act of lendingthe loan of a car
- property lent, esp money lent at interest for a period of time
- (as modifier)loan holder
the adoption by speakers of one language of a form current in another language
short for loan word
on loan
- lent out; borrowed
- (esp of personnel) transferred from a regular post to a temporary one elsewhere
verb
to lend (something, esp money)
Derived forms of loan
loanable, adjectiveloaner, nounWord Origin for loan
C13 loon, lan, from Old Norse lān; related to Old English lǣn loan; compare German Lehen fief, Lohn wages
British Dictionary definitions for loan (2 of 2)
loan2
loaning (ˈləʊnɪŋ)
/ (ləʊn) /
noun Scot and Northern English dialect
a lane
a place where cows are milked
Word Origin for loan
Old English lone, variant of lane 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012