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
Yes, bitcoin is a riskier asset than real estate, but the situation with borrowing against real assets is not a completely safe bet.
—
Georgii Verbitskii, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025
The scarf was oversized on Charlotte, sparking speculation that it could have been borrowed from one of her parents!
—Janine Henni, People.com, 22 July 2025
One example, Surgeon said, is the option to borrow movies on DVD.
—Kenneth R. Gosselin, Hartford Courant, 21 July 2025
Brussels has exempted defense expenditure from its strict rules on government spending and pledged to create a €150 billion fund from which countries can borrow, at favorable interest rates, to invest in their defense.
—Anna Cooban, CNN Money, 21 July 2025
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.
Georgii Verbitskii, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025
The scarf was oversized on Charlotte, sparking speculation that it could have been borrowed from one of her parents!
—Janine Henni, People.com, 22 July 2025
One example, Surgeon said, is the option to borrow movies on DVD.
—Kenneth R. Gosselin, Hartford Courant, 21 July 2025
Brussels has exempted defense expenditure from its strict rules on government spending and pledged to create a €150 billion fund from which countries can borrow, at favorable interest rates, to invest in their defense.
—Anna Cooban, CNN Money, 21 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for borrow
Cite this Entry
“Borrow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/borrow. Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.
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