Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense borrows, present participle borrowing, past tense, past participle borrowed
1. verb
If you borrow something that belongs to someone else, you take it or use it for a period of time,usually with their permission.
Can I borrow a pen please? [VERB noun]
He wouldn't let me borrow his clothes. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: take on loan, touch (someone) for [slang], scrounge [informal], blag [slang] More Synonyms of borrow
2. verb
If you borrow money from someone or from a bank, they give it to you and you agree to pay it back at some time in the future.
Morgan borrowed £5,000 from his father to form the company 20 years ago. [VERB noun + from]
It's so expensive to borrow from finance companies. [VERB + from]
He borrowed heavily to get the money together. [VERB]
[Also VERB noun]
3. verb
If you borrow a book from a library, you take it away for a fixed period of time.
I couldn't afford to buy any, so I borrowed them from the library. [VERB noun + from]
4. verb
If you borrow something such as a word or an idea from another language or from another person'swork, you use it in your own language or work.
I borrowed his words for my book's title. [VERB noun]
Their engineers are happier borrowing other people's ideas than developing theirown. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: steal, take, use, copy More Synonyms of borrow
5.
See be/be living on borrowed time
borrow in British English
(ˈbɒrəʊ)
verb
1.
to obtain or receive (something, such as money) on loan for temporary use, intending to give it, or something equivalent or identical, back to the lender
2.
to adopt (ideas, words, etc) from another source; appropriate
3. not standard
to lend
4. golf
to putt the ball uphill of the direct path to the hole
5. (intransitive) golf
(of a ball) to deviate from a straight path because of the slope of the ground
noun
6. golf
a deviation of a ball from a straight path because of the slope of the ground
a left borrow
7.
material dug from a borrow pit to provide fill at another
8. living on borrowed time
▶ USAGE The use of off after borrow was formerly considered incorrect, but is now acceptable in informal contexts
Derived forms
borrower (ˈborrower)
noun
Word origin
Old English borgian; related to Old High German borgēn to take heed, give security
Borrow in British English
(ˈbɒrəʊ)
noun
George (Henry). 1803–81, English traveller and writer. His best-known works are the semiautobiographical novels of Roma life and language, Lavengro (1851) and its sequel The Romany Rye (1857)
borrow in American English
(ˈbɑroʊ; ˈbɔroʊ)
verb transitive, verb intransitive
1.
to take or receive (something) with the understanding that one will return it or an equivalent
2.
to adopt or take over (something) as one's own
to borrow a theory
3.
to adopt and naturalize (a word, etc.) from another language
the word depot was borrowed from French
4. Arithmetic
in subtraction, to take (a unit of ten) from the next higher place in the minuend and add it to the next lower place: done when the number to be subtracted in the subtrahend is greater than the corresponding number in the minuend
Idioms:
borrow trouble
Derived forms
borrower (ˈborrower)
noun
Word origin
ME borwen < OE borgian, to borrow, lend, be surety for, akin to beorgan, to protect & borough
Examples of 'borrow' in a sentence
borrow
The rest of the money will be borrowed.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Councils that need homes should be allowed to use borrowing pledged for areas with little demand.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Borrowing too heavily and paying too much is a recipe for negative equity.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
The rise is said to have been driven by an increase in net borrowing from central and local government.
The Sun (2016)
When prices remained low, the government found itself unable to repay the farmers or borrow money.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Normally the government pays investors to borrow money ; these days investors will pay thegovernment for the privilege of lending them money.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
We should find or borrow the money for more, smaller gas-fired plants.
The Sun (2016)
This is borrowed money, driving up our deficit while vital British services struggle.
The Sun (2016)
Something trickier, then, must be to borrow money on the value of those slots.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Many have also borrowed heavily to expand and are highly geared.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Yet it still borrows money to give to foreign countries and awards its bosses giant pay rises.
The Sun (2014)
Why do we borrow money to give away in aid?
The Sun (2012)
They pocket the profit before handing back the borrowed stock.
The Sun (2008)
Would you mind if we borrowed some books for them to read?
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
This allows them to borrow at any time up to an established limit.
Charles A. D'Ambrosio & Stewart D. Hodges & Richard Brealey & Stewart Myers Principles of Corporate Finance (1991)
Public borrowing is close to peacetime records.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Airlines can and do borrow heavily because their assets are tangible and relatively safe.
Charles A. D'Ambrosio & Stewart D. Hodges & Richard Brealey & Stewart Myers Principles of Corporate Finance (1991)
Keep an eye out for lenders that try to sell insurance when you borrow money.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Who in their right mind would borrow money to give it away to charities?
The Sun (2011)
Now we have no choice but to save and pay back what we borrowed.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Most sensible people know we cannot balance the books with more borrowing or ruinous new taxes.
The Sun (2015)
It feels like he is on borrowed time.
The Sun (2013)
Not necessarily a bad thing if the billions raised or recklessly borrowed are then used to lift the deserving poor out of misery.
The Sun (2010)
When he loses interest, he borrows another one.
Christianity Today (2000)
Public sector net borrowing is likely to be pared back slightly to about 125 billion this year.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
We thought about borrowing and buying another one, but that means further outlay and risk.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The criticism of the Government is not that it has expanded public borrowing to do this and tosupport demand.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
There's also been a slight easing of credit conditions over the recent past and households have increased their net borrowing.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The borrowed money is used to pay for basic infrastructure on mothballed sites, which in turn allows building work to begin.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Seelend
In other languages
borrow
British English: borrow /ˈbɒrəʊ/ VERB
If you borrow something that belongs to someone else, you take it, usually with their permission, intending to return it.
Can I borrow a pen please?
American English: borrow
Arabic: يُقارِض
Brazilian Portuguese: tomar emprestado
Chinese: 借
Croatian: posuditi
Czech: půjčit si
Danish: låne
Dutch: lenen
European Spanish: pedir prestado
Finnish: lainata joltakulta
French: emprunter
German: borgen
Greek: δανείζομαι
Italian: prendere in prestito
Japanese: 借りる
Korean: 빌리다
Norwegian: låne
Polish: pożyczyć
European Portuguese: pedir emprestado
Romanian: a împrumuta (a lua)
Russian: занимать деньги
Latin American Spanish: pedir prestado
Swedish: låna
Thai: ยืม
Turkish: ödünç almak
Ukrainian: позичати
Vietnamese: mượn
Chinese translation of 'borrow'
borrow
(ˈbɔrəu)
vt
(from sb, from library) 借 (jiè)
can I borrow a pen please?我能不能借支笔(筆)？ (wǒ néngbunéng jiè zhī bǐ?)
1 (verb)
Definition
to obtain (something, such as money) on the understanding that it will be returned to the lender
Can I borrow a pen please?
Synonyms
take on loan
touch (someone) for (slang)
scrounge (informal)
She had to scrounge the money.
blag (slang)
mooch (slang)
cadge
He asked if he could cadge a ride from somebody.
use temporarily
take and return
Opposites
give
,
return
,
provide
,
supply
,
advance
,
loan
,
lend
2 (verb)
Definition
to adopt (ideas, words, etc.) from another source
I borrowed his words for my book's title.
Synonyms
steal
They solved the problem by stealing an idea from nature.
take
The burglars took just about anything they could carry.
use
copy
adopt
appropriate
What do they think about your appropriating their music and culture?
acquire
pinch (informal)
pickpockets who pinched his wallet
pirate
pirating copies of music tapes
poach
allegations that it had poached members from other unions
pilfer
Staff were pilfering cash from the bar.
filch
I filched some notes from his wallet.
plagiarize
He was accused of plagiarizing copyrighted material.
Quotation
Neither a borrower nor a lender be [William Shakespeare – Hamlet]
Additional synonyms
in the sense of appropriate
Definition
to take for one's own use without permission
What do they think about your appropriating their music and culture?
Synonyms
steal,
take,
nick (slang, British),
pocket,
trouser (slang),
pinch (informal),
pirate,
poach,
swipe (slang),
lift (informal),
knock off (slang),
heist (US, slang),
embezzle,
blag (slang),
pilfer,
misappropriate,
snitch (slang),
purloin,
filch,
plagiarize,
thieve,
peculate (literary)
in the sense of cadge
Definition
to get (something) from someone by taking advantage of his or her generosity