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loan

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To loan is defined as to give someone money that will be repaid with interest or an object that will be returned.

(verb)

An example of to loan is to give your friend money when they don’t have any cash.
An example of to loan is to give someone your phone to make a quick call.

The definition of a loan is the agreement of lending money with interest and a plan to repay it.

(noun)

An example of a loan is the agreement to give you money to buy a house.

See loan in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

the act of lending, esp. to use for a short time: the loan of a pen
something lent; esp., a sum of money lent, often for a specified period and repayable with interest

Origin: ME lone < ON lān (akin to OE læn, lending, loan, lænan, to lend) < IE base *leikw-, to leave behind > L linquere, Gr leipen, Sans riṅákti, (he) leaves

transitive verb, intransitive verb

to lend

See loan in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

a. Something lent for temporary use.
b. A sum of money lent at interest.
An act of lending; a grant for temporary use: asked for the loan of a garden hose.
A temporary transfer to a duty or place away from a regular job: an efficiency expert on loan from the main office.

transitive verb loaned, loan·ing, loans
Usage Problem

To lend.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English lan, lon

Origin: , from Old Norse lān; see leik^w- in Indo-European roots

Related Forms:

loanˈer noun

Usage Note: The verb loan is well established in American usage and cannot be considered incorrect. The frequent objections to the form by American grammarians may have originated from a provincial deference to British critics, who long ago labeled the usage a typical Americanism. Loan is, however, used to describe only physical transactions, as of money or goods; for figurative transactions, lend is correct: Distance lends enchantment. The allusions lend the work a classical tone.

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