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borrow Definition

bor·row (bär′ō, bôr′-)

transitive verb, intransitive verb

  1. to take or receive (something) with the understanding that one will return it or an equivalent
  2. to adopt or take over (something) as one's own to borrow a theory
  3. to adopt and naturalize (a word, etc.) from another language the word depot was borrowed from French
  4. Arith. 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

Etymology: ME borwen < OE borgian, to borrow, lend, be surety for, akin to beorgan, to protect & borough

borrow Related Forms
bor′·rower noun
borrow Idioms

borrow trouble

☆

to worry about anything needlessly or before one has sufficient cause

borrow Synonyms

borrow

v.

  1. To receive temporarily

    accept the loan of, obtain the use of, negotiate a loan for, get a loan, go into debt, get temporary use of, use, pledge, rent, hire, acquire, obtain, give a note for, raise money, touch up for*, sponge*, sponge on, sponge off*, hit up for*, bum*, beg*, cadge*, chisel*, mooch*, scrounge*, borrow from Peter to pay Paul*.

    Antonyms lend*, loan*, give back. *

  2. To adopt

    appropriate, assume, make one's own, plagiarize; see adopt 2.

borrow Usage Examples

Object

  • money: People borrow extra money against the security of their home to spend on a holiday or a new car.
  • phrase: To borrow a phrase from another campaign... " Just say ' no ' !
  • sum: Some doctors have borrowed large sums to train in the UK.
  • item: You can also borrow items without proof of address - please ask for details.
  • amount: The amount borrowed will be combined with the amount the borrower still owes on his first mortgage.
  • book: Or have you borrowed a suitable book from a library?

Adjective complement

  • less: Amount that wanting to borrow less than 75 % of your gross annual income.
  • more: Borrowing more than 80 % of the home's value will subject the borrower to private mortgage insurance.

Modifying Another Word

  • heavily: Many debts continue from the 1970s and 1980s, when countries borrowed heavily.
  • cheaply: If municipalities can borrow cheaply from the Bank of Canada they won't borrow from the private banks.
  • overnight: Books borrowed overnight or over the weekend must be returned by 9am on the due date.

Followed by an intransitive particle

  • up: First Plus will uniquely allow you to borrow up to 125 % of the value of your home, less the current mortgage.

Infinitive complement

  • invest: First, public enterprises are prevented from borrowing to invest and from developing the enterprise culture that the government values.
  • finance: Six months later I had started to borrow to finance it and was into every form of gambling every day.

Preposition: in

  • currency: Under the ECS, Local Authorities and Public Corporations borrowed in foreign currency and sold the foreign currency to the EEA for sterling.

Preposition: from

  • library: Books may be borrowed from the library for private study.
  • spectator: A 10p or similar coin is borrowed from a spectator.
  • lender: C Capital Sum of money borrowed from a lender.
  • bank: A mortgage is a sum of money borrowed from a bank or building society that's going to help you buy your house.
  • friend: Hire tools or borrow from friends or family for odd jobs, rather than buying your own.
borrow Quotes

Acquaintance, n. A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend to.

—Bierce, Ambrose Gwinett

Great poetsseldommake bricks without straw.They pile up allthe excellencestheycanbeg, borrow, or steal from their predecessors and contemporaries and then set their own inimitable light atop the mountain.

—Pound, Ezra Loomis