mortgage
Americannoun
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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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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:
Morgan Stanley’s mortgage department exists to provide loans to its wealth-management clients, well-off individuals who are less likely to default in mass numbers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
She said many middle-earners in the island had been squeezed by an increase in interest rates and the end of mortgage interest tax relief for homeowners.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Patrick M. Mincey, a lawyer for the whistleblower, said his client has exposed how the bank systemically pressures personnel to approve “unqualified mortgage applicants.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
His mortgage colleagues told him to drop his concerns, the people said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
They were now, in effect, the world’s biggest owners of subprime mortgage bonds.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Between 2018 and 2022, a client in Southern California who owned commercial and residential real estate applied for several mortgages stating that they would live in the properties.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
There are also examples of advisers pushing for mortgages for friends and romantic partners who lack the proper down payment, income or other criteria needed, the people said and documents show.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
The survey added on average, people in the affordable rental or partial ownership market spent 33% of gross income on housing-related issues, while private market renters averaged 22% and owners with mortgages averaged 19%.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
But Sell also has mortgages and commercial notes on his properties, putting his net worth as low as negative $2.8 million and as high as $13.9 million.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
The buyer of the swap—the buyer of insurance—would be paid off not all at once, if and when the entire pool of mortgages went bust, but incrementally, as individual homeowners went into default.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
To finance “I Am Frankelda,” Roy and Arturo mortgaged two homes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 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
Peter White, defending, said Callaghan had put his gas engineering business, which employs three people, and the mortgaged home he shares with his partner and nine-month-old daughter at risk.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2024
He told me that in Florida, creditors cannot take your home, and the Mosses had mortgaged most everything else they owned, probably to pay their bail bonds and legal fees.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
Mid-cap players are mortgaging chunks of their businesses to get in on the action, too.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2025
But she stuck to her guns, mortgaging her house to finance the project — and it seems to have paid off.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2024
Many private equity firms have quietly begun mortgaging their investment funds, piling leverage upon leverage.
From New York Times ● May 11, 2024
The Ford contract would reverse concessions the union agreed to in a series of contracts since 2007, when GM and the former Chrysler were skidding toward bankruptcy, and Ford was mortgaging assets to stay afloat.
From Reuters ● Oct. 26, 2023
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.
