lend-lease

noun

: the transfer of goods and services to an ally to aid in a common cause with payment made by a return of the original items or their use in the cause or by a similar transfer of other goods and services
lend-lease transitive verb

Examples of lend-lease in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Its World War II–era lend-lease programs sent copious amounts of food to sustain the British and Soviet war efforts. Carlisle Ford Runge, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2022 In a nod to some of the critics, meanwhile, the fourth bill incorporates former president Donald Trump’s preferred formulation for Ukraine assistance — a lend-lease program. The Editors, National Review, 17 Apr. 2024 To fully implement a lend-lease program, NATO must begin to consolidate the equipment Ukraine will need for the coming weeks and months of war and establish warehouses for supplies just across the border from Ukraine in Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. Alexander Vindman, Foreign Affairs, 11 May 2022

Word History

Etymology

U.S. Lend-Lease Act (1941)

First Known Use

1941, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lend-lease was in 1941

Dictionary Entries Near lend-lease

Cite this Entry

“Lend-lease.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lend-lease. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on lend-lease

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!