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

There are two types of loans that San Diego flood victims can apply for: economic injury disaster loans and physical damage loans. —Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2024

The final bucket includes a few thousand borrowers participating in Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which relieves the loans for people working in government jobs or positions that give back to the community. —Alia Wong, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024

The analysis factored in a 15% down payment and the average rate on a 30-year loan in February, which was around 6.8%. —Alex Veiga, Quartz, 11 Apr. 2024

North Central Staffing, Inc., which staffs NCG Hospitality locations, was approved in April 2020 for a PPP loan of $3,998,327 for payroll, $4,043,87 of which was forgiven in June 2021, according to data from the ProPublica PPP loan database. —Bridget Fogarty, Journal Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2024

Assuming 20% down on a $600,000 home, meaning a loan of $480,000 with a 3% mortgage rate, the monthly mortgage payment would be a little over $2,000 (that’s not including taxes or insurance). —Alena Botros, Fortune, 15 Apr. 2024

Before their final road trip of the season, the San Jose Sharks on Sunday recalled goalie Georgi Romanov, defenseman Jack Thompson, and forward Danil Gushchin on an emergency loan basis from the AHL. —Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 14 Apr. 2024

The Chips Act—which set aside $39 billion in grants plus $75 billion in loans and guarantees—has spurred well north of $200 billion in private semiconductor investments. —Mackenzie Hawkins, Fortune Asia, 12 Apr. 2024

The answer is Don Hankey, a subprime car loan billionaire who has run afoul of regulators. —Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 4 Apr. 2024

Verb

Labor brokers loan money for the surgeries, even to resolve ailments as routine as heavy, painful periods. —Qadri Inzamam Saumya Khandelwal, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2024

That same year, state regulators found that another nonprofit improperly loaned its top officials more than $250,000 while wards were unnecessarily kept in nursing homes. —Jake Pearson, ProPublica, 7 Mar. 2024

In 2022, Axos Bank, a California lender, loaned Trump $100 million to refinance the mortgage on Trump Tower. —Matt Egan, CNN, 2 Apr. 2024

The dress was loaned to Kardashian by Ripley’s Believe It or Not, and the decision was immediately met with backlash from outraged fans who claimed Kardashian damaged the garment by pulling and wearing down seams. —Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024

Hollywood memorabilia collector Michael Shaw had loaned the pair to the museum before Martin stole them. —Steve Karnowski, Fortune, 18 Mar. 2024

Since Sony loaned Spider-Man as a character to Marvel Studios for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sony is left making movies about characters on the sidelines — like Madame Web. —Elahe Izadi, Washington Post, 19 Feb. 2024

Concrete business owner David Taylor has loaned his own campaign $1.7 million, while Larry Kidd, who owns a hiring agency, has invested $1.3 million in the race. —Nathaniel Rakich, ABC News, 18 Mar. 2024

Shaw loaned them in 2005 to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. —Steve Karnowski and Jim Salter, USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2024

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

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