loan

[ lohn ]

See synonyms for: loan loaned on Thesaurus.com

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.

loanword.

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.

Idioms about loan

on 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.

Origin of loan

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”; 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, adjective

Words that may be confused with loan

1. loan , lone
2. borrow, lend, loan

Words Nearby loan

Other definitions for loan (2 of 2)

loan²

[ lohn ]

nounScot.

a country lane; secondary road.
an uncultivated plot of farmland, usually used for milking cows.

Origin of loan

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English lane, lone, Old English lane, lane¹

Also loan·ing [loh-ning]. /ˈloʊ nɪŋ/.

Other words from loan

un·loan·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use loan in a sentence

Bradford went through the online lender Kabbage since she already had a loan with them, and they had all her documentation.
The Big Corporate Rescue and the America That’s Too Small to Save | by Lydia DePillis, Justin Elliott and Paul Kiel | September 12, 2020 | ProPublica
When you’re applying for a mortgage loan, you’re going to need homeowner’s insurance.
Determining your insurance needs | Valerie Blake | September 12, 2020 | Washington Blade
Criticized loans at those banks are now equivalent to 9, 13 and 25 percent of tier one equity capital — the core measure of a bank’s financial strength — respectively, according to S&P Market Intelligence.
A Loan Crisis Looms for Commercial Property | Daniel Malloy | September 8, 2020 | Ozy
That will include $100 million in equity, plus $50 million in the form of a convertible loan, the company said.
Yandex spins out self-driving car unit from its Uber JV, invests $150M into new co | Ingrid Lunden | September 4, 2020 | TechCrunch
If the loan goes to foreclosure, the bank dispatches someone to find the right box and dig out the relevant files.
First he took energy trading and the NYSE electronic. Now Jeff Sprecher of ICE shares his plans to digitize your mortgage | Shawn Tully | September 2, 2020 | Fortune

This loan has done nothing to deter the hardliners: just ask the current occupants of Evin prison.
Britain Has Lost Its Marbles: Elgin Loan Will Appease Putin | Geoffrey Robertson | December 5, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
What were the terms of the loan—did the Hermitage pay and if not, why not?
Britain Has Lost Its Marbles: Elgin Loan Will Appease Putin | Geoffrey Robertson | December 5, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
He jokes about going through airport security with the then 800-year-old document, which is now on loan to the National Archives.
Patriotic Philanthropy: Not an Oxymoron | Eleanor Clift | November 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
He continues to search for a loan to renovate his beloved Hotel Pourquoi Pas?
‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis | Nina Strochlic | November 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Old people vote in midterms, so it stands a much better chance of having an impact than a last-second student-loan scare.
Hooray for Liberal Fear-Mongering! | Michael Tomasky | October 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
War credit banks were more general in their dealings than war loan banks.
Readings in Money and Banking | Chester Arthur Phillips
Must I add, that your good money paid this second loan—and yet a third—a fourth—a fifth?
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV. | Various
They would certainly ask that question, and perhaps refuse the loan.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV. | Various
For us to take her place it became necessary for us to loan before we could sell and buy.
Readings in Money and Banking | Chester Arthur Phillips
Syfe settled with him in cash by taking a large loan on his homestead and giving Barr the proceeds.
The Homesteader | Oscar Micheaux

British Dictionary definitions for loan (1 of 2)

loan¹

/ (ləʊn) /

noun

the act of lending: the 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)

Origin of loan

C13 loon, lan, from Old Norse lān; related to Old English lǣn loan; compare German Lehen fief, Lohn wages

Derived forms of loan

loanable, adjective
loaner, noun

British Dictionary definitions for loan (2 of 2)

loan²

loaning (ˈləʊnɪŋ)

/ (ləʊn) /

nounScot and Northern English dialect

a lane
a place where cows are milked

Origin of 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

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