loan

1 of 2

noun

ˈlōn 

1

a

: money lent at interest

took out a loan to pay for the new car

b

: something lent usually for the borrower's temporary use

2

a

: the grant of temporary use

Can I have the loan of your car?

b

: the temporary duty of a person transferred to another job for a limited time

He had been on loan to the navy during the war.

3

: loanword

The word "nosh" is a loan from Yiddish.

loan

2 of 2

verb

loaned; loaning; loans

transitive verb

: lend

loanable

ˈlō-nə-bəl 

adjective

Loan vs. Lend: Usage Guide

The verb loan is one of the words English settlers brought to America and continued to use after it had died out in Britain. Its use was soon noticed by British visitors and somewhat later by the New England literati, who considered it a bit provincial. It was flatly declared wrong in 1870 by a popular commentator, who based his objection on etymology. A later scholar showed that the commentator was ignorant of Old English and thus unsound in his objection, but by then it was too late, as the condemnation had been picked up by many other commentators. Although a surprising number of critics still voice objections, loan is entirely standard as a verb. You should note that it is used only literally; lend is the verb used for figurative expressions, such as "lending a hand" or "lending enchantment."

Synonyms

Verb

• advance
• lend

Examples of loan in a Sentence

Noun

He got a car loan.

He'll need several more years to pay off the rest of the loan.

She needed money, so she asked her friend for a loan.

Verb

The National Gallery has been kind enough to loan this painting to our museum.

His mother loaned him the money to buy a new car.

Can you loan me $20?

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Unlike traditional lenders that offer quick fixes through loans, Lead Sensei understands that true business recovery and growth require more than just funding. —Jon Stojan, USA Today, 1 May 2025

The following summer, Spurs paid sizeable sums for Richarlison and Yves Bissouma and completed the deal to sign Cristian Romero after a season-long loan. —Elias Burke, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025

Verb

The city will loan the small Columbus statue removed from Arrigo Park in July 2020 to the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, which is developing a museum honoring Italian immigrants in the city’s Little Italy neighborhood, according to a Park District news release. —A.d. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 1 May 2025

Tool Kits Some libraries loan out tools like pliers and stud finders. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 17 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English lone "something lent or owing, divine gift," borrowed from Old Norse lán "something lent, fief," going back to Germanic *laihna- "something granted or lent" (whence also Old Frisian lēn "fief, benefice, something lent," Old Saxon lēhan "gift, fief," Old High German lēhan, lēn "something lent, feudal tenure, benefice," and, from a variant *laihni-, Old English lǣn "something lent, grant, gift"), noun derivative from the verb *līhwan- "to grant, lend" — more at delinquent entry 2

Note: Germanic *laihna- appears directly comparable with the Indo-Iranian s-stem represented by Vedic Sanskrit rékṇaḥ "inheritance, property," Avestan raēxənah- "inheritance," though it is uncertain if the Germanic word can also be derived from an s-stem. See note at delinquent entry 2.

Verb

derivative of loan entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

circa 1543, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing loan

• bad loan
• bank loan
• bridge loan
• bridging loan
• call loan
• demand loan
• home equity loan
• home loan
• loan shark
• loan-sharking
• loan translation
• on loan
• personal loan
• savings and loan association
• student loan

Rhymes for loan

• blown
• clone
• cone
• crone
• drone
• flown
• groan
• grown
• hone
• joan
• known
• lone

Kids Definition

loan

1 of 2 noun

ˈlōn 

1

a

: money lent at interest

b

: something lent for a limited time

2

: permission to use something for a time

loan

2 of 2 verb

: lend sense 1

Legal Definition

loan

noun

1

a

: money lent at interest

b

: something lent usually for the borrower's temporary use

2

: a transfer or delivery of money from one party to another with the express or implied agreement that the sum will be repaid regardless of contingency and usually with interest

broadly : the furnishing of something to another party for temporary use with the agreement that it or its equivalent will be returned

the leasing of the car was termed a loan

— bridge loan

: a short-term loan used as a means of financing a purchase or enterprise prior to obtaining other funds

used a bridge loan to purchase a new home prior to the sale of the old one

— conventional loan

: a loan for the purchase of real property that is secured by a first mortgage on the property rather than by any federal agency

— demand loan

: a loan that is subject to repayment upon demand of the lender

— home equity loan

: a loan or line of credit secured by the equity in one's home

called also equity loan, home equity line, home equity line of credit

see also qualified residence interest at interest sense 5

— loan for consumption \ -​kən-​ˈsümp-​shən \

: a loan in which the borrower is obligated to return property of the same kind as that borrowed and consumed —used chiefly in the civil law of Louisiana ; compare bailment, deposit, loan for use in this entry

— loan for use

: a loan in which one party lends personal property to another with the understanding that the borrower will return the same property at a future time without compensation for its use : commodatum —used chiefly in the civil law of Louisiana ; compare bailment, deposit, loan for consumption in this entry

— participation loan

: a single loan in which two or more lenders participate

— term loan

: a loan extended to a business with provisions for repayment according to a schedule of amortization and usually for a period of one to five years and sometimes fifteen years