borrowed; borrowing; borrows
1
a
: to receive with the implied or expressed intention of returning the same or an equivalent
borrow a book from the library
borrowed a dollar
borrowing a cup of sugar from a neighbor
b
finance
: to borrow (money) with the intention of returning the same plus interest (see interest entry 1 sense 3a)
borrow money from the bank
2
a
: to appropriate for one's own use
borrow a metaphor from Shakespeare
3
mathematics
: to take (one) from a digit of the minuend in arithmetical subtraction in order to add as 10 to the digit holding the next lower place
4
: to adopt into one language from another
The English word "entrepreneur" was borrowed from French.
5
dialect
: lend
Borrow me your pencil.
: to borrow something
borrows heavily from Nietzsche
Examples of borrow in a Sentence
The twins often borrow each other's clothes.
I'm borrowing a friend's car for the weekend.
He borrowed the book from the library.
Will you see if we can borrow a cup of sugar from the neighbors?
She borrowed $20 from me.
The speech was peppered with phrases borrowed from Winston Churchill.
She borrowed the technique from local artisans.
Recent Examples on the Web
Thunder Power's liquidity is based on its ability to generate cash from operations, obtain capital financing, and borrow funds to support its operations and capital needs.
—
Quartz Bot, Quartz, 14 Nov. 2024
And the success of CAR-T has inspired researchers to borrow other—cheaper and simpler—strategies from cancer therapy to kill immune cells gone awry.
—Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 4 Nov. 2024
My wife has already asked to borrow the device, which is kind of big news in our home.
—Scott Kramer, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024
That said, Double Chicken Please seems to borrow more from the art world than the speakeasy down the street.
—Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 2 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for borrow 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Quartz Bot, Quartz, 14 Nov. 2024
And the success of CAR-T has inspired researchers to borrow other—cheaper and simpler—strategies from cancer therapy to kill immune cells gone awry.
—Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 4 Nov. 2024
My wife has already asked to borrow the device, which is kind of big news in our home.
—Scott Kramer, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024
That said, Double Chicken Please seems to borrow more from the art world than the speakeasy down the street.
—Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 2 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for borrow
Dictionary Entries Near borrow
Cite this Entry
“Borrow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/borrow. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
borrow
verb
bor·row
ˈbär-ō 
ˈbȯr-
1
: to take or receive something with the promise or intention of returning it
2
: to take for one's own use something begun or thought up by another : adopt
borrow an idea
3
: to take 1 from the digit in a minuend and add it as 10 to the digit in the next lower place
Biographical Definition
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share