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mortal
mortal sin
mortality
mortality rate
mortality table
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mortgage
mortgage-backed security
mortgage banker
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mortgage

mort·gage [ máwrgij ]


noun  (plural mort·gag·es)
Definition:
 
1. loan agreement secured by property: an agreement by which somebody borrows money from a money-lending organization such as a bank or savings-and-loan association and gives that organization the right to take possession of property given as security if the loan is not repaid

2. contract between borrower and lender: a written contract describing the agreement between a borrower and a lending organization by which a loan is given against security

3. total money borrowed: the total amount of money lent to a borrower by a money-lending organization, with some of the borrower's property being given as security

4. loan installment to be repaid: the money paid by a borrower, usually monthly, to a lending organization until the entire sum borrowed by a mortgage agreement has been repaid



transitive verb  (past and past participle mort·gaged, present participle mort·gag·ing, 3rd person present singular mort·gag·es)
Definition:
 
1. grant claim to ownership of property: to give a claim to legal possession of property to a money-lending organization such as a bank or savings-and-loan association as security for a loan

2. put something at risk: to pledge something when risk is involved ( informal )
mortgaged her political future by accepting the donation

[14th century. < Old French< mort "dead" + gage "pledge," because property pledged as security may be lost]

mort·gage·a·ble adjective
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