mortgage
Americannoun
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mortgages
plural
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a conveyance of an interest in real property as security for the repayment of money borrowed to buy the property; a lien or claim on property such that the lender can take possession if the loan is not repaid.
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the deed by which such a transaction is effected.
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the rights conferred by such a transaction, or the state of the property conveyed: I own a house under mortgage.
The bank holds a mortgage on his farm.
I own a house under mortgage.
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the total loan obtained or the periodic installment to be paid under such a transaction.
They took out a $500,000 mortgage.
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the obligation to repay such a loan; the debt incurred.
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an advance obligation or pledge, usually involving some risk.
Without good maternity care, some babies will be born with a long-term mortgage on their future health.
verb (used with object)
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mortgages,
present (3rd person singular)
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mortgaged,
past participle, past
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mortgaging
present participle
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to convey or place (real property) under a mortgage.
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to place under advance obligation; to pledge, usually taking on some risk.
to mortgage one's life to the defense of democracy.
noun
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an agreement under which a person borrows money to buy property, esp a house, and the lender may take possession of the property if the borrower fails to repay the money
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the deed effecting such an agreement
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the loan obtained under such an agreement
a mortgage of £48 000
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a regular payment of money borrowed under such an agreement
a mortgage of £247 per month
verb
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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submortgagenoun
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overmortgageverb
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remortgageverb (used with object)
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unmortgageverb (used with object)
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mortgageableadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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mortgagesimple
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mortgagessimple
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have mortgagedperfect
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has mortgagedperfect
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am mortgagingprogressive
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are mortgagingprogressive
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is mortgagingprogressive
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have been mortgagingperfect progressive
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has been mortgagingperfect progressive
Past
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mortgagedsimple
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had mortgagedperfect
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was mortgagingprogressive
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were mortgagingprogressive
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had been mortgagingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mortgage
First recorded in 1350–1400; earlier morgage, Middle English, from Old French mortgage, equivalent to mort “dead” (from Latin mortuus ) + gage “pledge”; see gage 1
Explanation
A mortgage is a loan in which the lender may use your property as payment if you don't pay back the loan. Offer your friend a mortgage for the $20 he wants...with his bike as security. Most people obtain a mortgage when they buy a house. The bank extends the loan because of the guarantee that the house will be the bank’s to sell if the debt isn’t repaid. When you make this deal, you have mortgaged your house — the word mortgage can be used as a noun or a verb.
Vocabulary lists containing mortgage
Richard Nixon's "Checkers" Speech (1952)
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Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - Introductory
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Dwight D. Eisenhower, "The Military-Industrial Complex" (1961)
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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.
See Examples For:
In September, nearly all the major mortgage lenders in the UK announced increases in the cost of home loans.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
Homeowners’ prepayment options become more valuable, which exacerbates negative convexity for mortgage bonds.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
He purchased the building on 23rd Street, according to public records, in the 1970s, taking out a $150,000 mortgage on the property at an 8 percent interest rate.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage climbed to 6.95% over the past week, Freddie Mac reported Thursday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
In a CDO you gathered one hundred different mortgage bonds—usually, the riskiest, lower floors of the original tower—and used them to erect an entirely new tower of bonds.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Bassman said a few years ago most mortgages were hovering at low interest rates, with valuations deeply discounted as refinancing looked less likely.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
Owners holding ultralow fixed-rate mortgages can take advantage of the strong rental demand, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Many in the second cohort had mortgages with relatively high interest rates and then ended up in foreclosure, said Jeffrey Zabel, one of the authors of the paper.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
What's happening to UK interest rates and what does it mean for mortgages?
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
Eisman had no trouble betting against subprime mortgages.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
The other was the son of a farmer who mortgaged his future for his child's education.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
A bit more examination reveals that Rory’s heavily mortgaged ancestral manse is ripe for foreclosure, so the shrewd Birdie and a few new acquaintances step in with an unorthodox plan to stop such proceedings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
After poor ticket sales, producers were reported to have mortgaged property to cover debts.
From Barron's ● Dec. 22, 2025
The couple mortgaged their Hollywood Hills home again and again to finance his films, she said, in an effort to remain independent from the tight reins of Hollywood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2024
When Mammachi arrived in the kitchen, in her petticoat and pale pink dressing gown with rickrack edging, Vellya Paapen climbed up the kitchen steps and offered her his mortgaged eye.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
“Russia would be further mortgaging its future for the sake of military gains,” said Alexander Kolyandr, a director at the consulting firm Eurasia Group.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
He’s a strong candidate for a team that wants a front-end starter without mortgaging the future.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2025
Mid-cap players are mortgaging chunks of their businesses to get in on the action, too.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2025
Many private equity firms have quietly begun mortgaging their investment funds, piling leverage upon leverage.
From New York Times ● May 11, 2024
Almost immediately, the financial slide began, but was artificially buoyed by extravagant bank loans that Chacko raised by mortgaging the family’s rice fields around the Ayemenem House.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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.
