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borrow

bor·row [ báwrō, bórrō ]

verb (past and past participle bor·rowed, present participle bor·row·ing, 3rd person present singular bor·rows)

Definition:

1. transitive verb use somebody else's property: to get temporary possession or use of something belonging to somebody else, usually after asking permission

Dad, can I borrow the car?

2. transitive and intransitive verb receive money as loan: to arrange to be given money by somebody or by a bank or other financial institution for a fixed period of time. The money is normally paid back in installments, with interest.

We've already borrowed heavily this year.

3. transitive verb take book from library: to take out a book or other item from a library for an agreed period of time

4. transitive and intransitive verb copy something from somebody's work: to copy something from somebody else's work, especially a work of art of some kind

Some shots were clearly borrowed from Hitchcock.

5. transitive and intransitive verb linguistics take something from another language: to adopt a word from another language

6. intransitive verb golf putt to allow for slope: in golf, to putt to the left or right of a straight line on a green to allow for the effect of the slope

7. intransitive verb golf veer left or right: to veer to the left or right as a result of the slope of a green ( refers to golf balls )

noun

Definition:

golf extent of veering: the degree to which a golf ball veers to the left or right as a result of the slope of a green

[ Old English borgian "borrow against security" < Germanic, "protect"]

bor·row·er noun

Word Usage


	borrow, lend, or loan ? All these verbs are used in connection with the temporary use or possession of something that belongs to somebody else. When you borrow something from somebody, you get it: Can I borrow your car for an hour? I borrowed $100 from my brother. When you lend or loan something to somebody, you give it: My brother lent me $100.Will you loan me your car for an hour?Lend can be used figuratively, whereas loan cannot: The old silver lends [not loans] an air of elegance to an otherwise drab room. Borrow and lend/loan are not interchangeable in standard English and should not be confused.