borrowed; borrowing; borrows
1
a
: to receive with the implied or expressed intention of returning the same or an equivalent
borrow a book from the library
borrowed a dollar
borrowing a cup of sugar from a neighbor
b
finance
: to borrow (money) with the intention of returning the same plus interest (see interest entry 1 sense 3a)
borrow money from the bank
2
a
: to appropriate for one's own use
borrow a metaphor from Shakespeare
3
mathematics
: to take (one) from a digit of the minuend in arithmetical subtraction in order to add as 10 to the digit holding the next lower place
4
: to adopt into one language from another
The English word "entrepreneur" was borrowed from French.
5
dialect
: lend
Borrow me your pencil.
: to borrow something
borrows heavily from Nietzsche
Examples of borrow in a Sentence
The twins often borrow each other's clothes.
I'm borrowing a friend's car for the weekend.
He borrowed the book from the library.
Will you see if we can borrow a cup of sugar from the neighbors?
She borrowed $20 from me.
The speech was peppered with phrases borrowed from Winston Churchill.
She borrowed the technique from local artisans.
Recent Examples on the Web
Many Chinese households have borrowed heavily to invest in apartments and are responding to falling home prices by cutting back their spending.
—
Alexandra Stevenson, New York Times, 16 Apr. 2024
The co-owners strive to emphasize quality over showmanship, a philosophy borrowed from a business Batista opened years ago: All Souls Bar in Shaw, a neighborhood spot beloved for its small, rotating selection of reliable cocktails.
—Sonia Rao, Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2024
With these words, borrowed from Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Hunter S. Thompson concluded his violent, macabre 1967 book Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga.
—Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 14 Apr. 2024
Both public and private miners were estimated to have borrowed as much as $4 billion in loans backed by mining equipment around that time.
—David Pan, Fortune, 14 Apr. 2024
The Libby app lets readers borrow e-books, digital audiobooks and magazines with your library card.
—Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
Borrowers who have made 10 years of payments and borrowed $12,000 or less will see the aid.
—Solcyré Burga, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
The central bank's benchmarks guide the costs of borrowing for banks, and through that influence rates throughout the economy, from business credit lines to mortgages and credit cards to government bonds.
—David McHugh, Quartz, 11 Apr. 2024
Prosecutors said that earlier that day, Dorsey called Sarah Bonnie seeking to borrow money to pay two drug dealers who were at his apartment.
—CBS News, 5 Apr. 2024
Alexandra Stevenson, New York Times, 16 Apr. 2024
The co-owners strive to emphasize quality over showmanship, a philosophy borrowed from a business Batista opened years ago: All Souls Bar in Shaw, a neighborhood spot beloved for its small, rotating selection of reliable cocktails.
—Sonia Rao, Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2024
With these words, borrowed from Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Hunter S. Thompson concluded his violent, macabre 1967 book Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga.
—Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 14 Apr. 2024
Both public and private miners were estimated to have borrowed as much as $4 billion in loans backed by mining equipment around that time.
—David Pan, Fortune, 14 Apr. 2024
The Libby app lets readers borrow e-books, digital audiobooks and magazines with your library card.
—Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
Borrowers who have made 10 years of payments and borrowed $12,000 or less will see the aid.
—Solcyré Burga, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
The central bank's benchmarks guide the costs of borrowing for banks, and through that influence rates throughout the economy, from business credit lines to mortgages and credit cards to government bonds.
—David McHugh, Quartz, 11 Apr. 2024
Prosecutors said that earlier that day, Dorsey called Sarah Bonnie seeking to borrow money to pay two drug dealers who were at his apartment.
—CBS News, 5 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'borrow.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near borrow
Cite this Entry
“Borrow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/borrow. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
borrow
verb
bor·row
ˈbär-ō 
ˈbȯr-
1
: to take or receive something with the promise or intention of returning it
2
: to take for one's own use something begun or thought up by another : adopt
borrow an idea
3
: to take 1 from the digit in a minuend and add it as 10 to the digit in the next lower place
Biographical Definition
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