Borrow Definition

bŏrō, bôrō

borrowed, borrowing, borrows

verb

borrowed, borrowing, borrows

To take or receive (something) with the understanding that one will return it or an equivalent.

Webster's New World

To adopt or take over (something) as one's own.

To borrow a theory.

Webster's New World

To adopt and naturalize (a word, etc.) from another language.

The word depot was borrowed from French.

Webster's New World

In subtraction, to take (a unit of ten) from the next higher place in the minuend and add it to the next lower place: done when the number to be subtracted in the subtrahend is greater than the corresponding number in the minuend.

Webster's New World

To borrow something.

American Heritage

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

noun

(golf) Deviation of the path of a rolling ball from a straight line; slope; slant.

This putt has a big left-to right borrow on it.

Wiktionary

(archaic) A ransom; a pledge or guarantee.

Wiktionary

(archaic) A surety; someone standing bail.

Wiktionary

pronoun

A surname.

George Borrow wrote novels and travelogues based on his experiences travelling around Europe.

Wiktionary

idiom

borrow trouble

To take an unnecessary action that will probably engender adverse effects.

American Heritage

borrow trouble

to worry about anything needlessly or before one has sufficient cause

Webster's New World

living on borrowed time

living past the likely or usual time of death

Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Borrow

Noun

Singular:

borrow

Plural:

borrows

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Borrow

borrow trouble
borrow trouble
living on borrowed time

Origin of Borrow

From Middle English borwen, borȝien, Old English borgian (“to borrow, lend, pledge surety for”), from Proto-Germanic *burgōną (“to pledge, take care of”), from Proto-Indo-European *bhergh- (“to take care”). Cognate with Dutch borgen (“to borrow, trust”), German borgen (“to borrow, lend”), Danish borge (“to vouch”). Related to Old English beorgan (“to save, preserve”). More at bury.

From Wiktionary
Middle English borwen from Old English borgian bhergh-¹ in Indo-European roots

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
From Old English borg, from Proto-Germanic (related to Etymology 1, above).

From Wiktionary