as in adopts
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 borrows
Advertisement In a moment when politics increasingly borrows the aesthetics of culture, clarity counts.
—
Debbie Millman, Time, 4 Feb. 2026
This recipe borrows that same concept and scales it up to a Bundt pan size.
—Jesse Szewczyk, Bon Appetit Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
The plan, unanimously approved by the House Judiciary Committee, borrows from changes made in the public-school system after the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
—Jim Saunders, Sun Sentinel, 27 Jan. 2026
The plan, which was unanimously approved by the House Judiciary Committee, borrows from changes made in the public-school system after the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
—Cbs Miami Team, CBS News, 27 Jan. 2026
The model borrows from the early-stage start-up strategy of throwing ideas against the wall, hoping consumers will quickly say no to the loser ideas, and graduating winners to the main business.
—Lilian Raji, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
The restaurant seats about 215 people at the moment, and borrows a similar look and feel from its sister on the Plaza.
—Kansas City Star, 22 Jan. 2026
For dessert, enjoy a cappuccino with a slice of the New York-style cheesecake, made using Lysek’s grandmother’s recipe, from whom the restaurant borrows its namesake.
—Sara Rosenthal, Denver Post, 20 Jan. 2026
The Red collection borrows bold reds from the Timberland archives, referencing the 2013 collection celebrating the brand’s 40th anniversary in which the color was launched.
—Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 20 Jan. 2026
Debbie Millman, Time, 4 Feb. 2026
This recipe borrows that same concept and scales it up to a Bundt pan size.
—Jesse Szewczyk, Bon Appetit Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
The plan, unanimously approved by the House Judiciary Committee, borrows from changes made in the public-school system after the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
—Jim Saunders, Sun Sentinel, 27 Jan. 2026
The plan, which was unanimously approved by the House Judiciary Committee, borrows from changes made in the public-school system after the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
—Cbs Miami Team, CBS News, 27 Jan. 2026
The model borrows from the early-stage start-up strategy of throwing ideas against the wall, hoping consumers will quickly say no to the loser ideas, and graduating winners to the main business.
—Lilian Raji, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
The restaurant seats about 215 people at the moment, and borrows a similar look and feel from its sister on the Plaza.
—Kansas City Star, 22 Jan. 2026
For dessert, enjoy a cappuccino with a slice of the New York-style cheesecake, made using Lysek’s grandmother’s recipe, from whom the restaurant borrows its namesake.
—Sara Rosenthal, Denver Post, 20 Jan. 2026
The Red collection borrows bold reds from the Timberland archives, referencing the 2013 collection celebrating the brand’s 40th anniversary in which the color was launched.
—Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 20 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for borrows
Verb
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Their Eyes adopts the documentary mode and is narrated entirely by crowdworkers—specifically, annotators contracted to segment and label images to create training data for self-driving cars.—
Farren Fei Yuan,
Artforum,
1 Feb. 2026
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Morina’s direct style — following Shaban and Hatixhe closely, highlighting the physicality of their labor — adopts the matter-of-fact attitude of his protagonists.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But as Wall Street embraces tokenization, or issues different digital assets on blockchains, Bogart believes TRM will be able to weather any impending downturn.—
Leo Schwartz,
Fortune,
4 Feb. 2026
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The album, released just over a year ago, embraces rhythms native to Puerto Rico, like plena and salsa, and centers the island’s colonial history.—
Itzel Luna,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Borrows.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/borrows. Accessed 8 Feb. 2026.
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