as in to adopt
to take for one's own use (something originated by another)
borrowed the basic plot from a book of tales, but put her personal stamp on the story
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Recent Examples of borrow
The second problem was the surge of people seeking jobless benefits required California to borrow money from the federal government to pay those claims.
—
William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 6 Mar. 2026
This provision would deny associations the right to temporarily borrow from reserves to prosecute or defend lawsuits with HOA members.
—Kelly G. Richardson, Oc Register, 6 Mar. 2026
Eagan said the late tax payments forced the district to borrow millions of dollars, which cost interest and fees, and caused the district to lose substantial interest income.
—Addison Wright, Chicago Tribune, 5 Mar. 2026
Scouts used to have to watch film of a player while at his school, and then put together their own VHS tapes for their general managers, using footage borrowed from the colleges.
—Jourdan Rodrigue, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for borrow
William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 6 Mar. 2026
This provision would deny associations the right to temporarily borrow from reserves to prosecute or defend lawsuits with HOA members.
—Kelly G. Richardson, Oc Register, 6 Mar. 2026
Eagan said the late tax payments forced the district to borrow millions of dollars, which cost interest and fees, and caused the district to lose substantial interest income.
—Addison Wright, Chicago Tribune, 5 Mar. 2026
Scouts used to have to watch film of a player while at his school, and then put together their own VHS tapes for their general managers, using footage borrowed from the colleges.
—Jourdan Rodrigue, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for borrow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for borrow
Verb
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Vietnam's Ministry for Industry and Trade encouraged businesses to adopt remote working arrangements and reduce travel and transport demand to ensure national energy security.—
Sawdah Bhaimiya,
CNBC,
12 Mar. 2026
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Mikala grew up taking annual family trips to Austin to visit her grandmother, an Austinite since 1975, and has fully adopted the Texas lifestyle since moving to the Lone Star State in 2018.—
Mikala Compton,
Austin American Statesman,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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For her appearance, Kate embraced a business casual aesthetic, wearing a gray Prince of Wales check blazer from Catherine Walker over a sky blue button-down, paired with black pants and coordinating black heeled boots.—
Rachel Burchfield,
InStyle,
12 Mar. 2026
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And despite how much employers might hate job-hopping, most professionals have been embracing it as a useful career tool.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
12 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Borrow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/borrow. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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